Uzumaki of the Whirlpool
by RaiderXV
Summary: Naruto is chased out of the village with Hinata and rescued by some ninja from the newly reformed Whirlpool village. How will his life change? NaruHina Others may follow, lots of OC's.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…

Chapter 1 – It begins

A young blond covered in his own blood was running for his life. Why was he running you ask? He is Naruto Uzumaki container of the Kyuubi no Kitsune or Kyuubi no Yoko. A jinchuuriki, a human sacrifice, one who has a demon sealed in him, keeping the terrible beast at bay so that others will be protected and he will eventually come to great power. The people of Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves, most of whom thought of him as the beast and wanted him dead. He was running for his life, this being his fourth birthday, the anniversary of the killing of the Kyuubi, Naruto has no idea why this was happening to him for the last two years. The orphanage kicked him out earlier today, the old hag had told him that 'he was complaining too much and that no one wanted him, so if he died on the streets he would be better off. '

He ran as fast as his little feet could take him, he knew that the forest would provide some security if he could just make it there. But he knew in the back of his mind that it was too far off but he had to try. He rounded a corner and ran smack into an unknown wall. 'Since when did a wall say ouch?' Naruto thought questioningly.

He looked up and saw that there was a very pretty lady and lying on the ground was a pretty young girl rubbing her head. "Sorry… I didn't mean to wun into you." Naruto quickly apologized.

He heard screams of "Get the demon! Kill the monster!" And other sayings he did not even know but most covered demons and monsters. The woman before him looked shocked.

"You are Naruto? Are you not?" Looking at Naruto and then turning to her daughter she started to pick her up. "Here you go Hinata-chan. It is alright honey. He has apologized for running into you. What do you say?"

Hinata blushed and bowed, "I am sorry Naruto-san for being in your way. I accept your apology, and hope you accept mine." She then looked at Naruto at first all she could see were his beautiful sapphire eyes. Her eyes looked at him and she was shocked to see that he was bleeding and had a couple kunai impaled into him as he swayed to and fro. "Oh, mommy is he alright? We should help him!" Hinata said in near hysterics.

Naruto smiled a big grin looked very tired. "Thank you and I accept…" His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he collapsed to the ground as a pool of blood was starting to form on the ground around him.

Hinata screamed as her mother picked up Naruto and looked at Hinata. "Come Hinata-chan we must get him to the hospital now." Hinata nodded as tears started to stream from her eyes. They both ran off as fast as Hinata's feet could carry her.

They arrived at the hospital in short order. The emergency room was filled with drunks and brawlers who were injured in tonight's festivities. Hinata's mother went to the desk and asked for help.

"I am Hana Hyuuga, and I have a child here who needs immediate medical attention. He has multiple stab wounds, bruises, and other contusions!" Hana yelled as her kimono was starting to show blood stains.

The nurse showed her to a gurney, as Hana placed Naruto down on it the nurse showed her revulsion. This was not lost on Hana. "We will not serve this boy, he is a demon!" The nurse said in a raised voice. This brought the attention of others in the ER. "This demon will not have our help. I will let him die here if you like but we will not help him."

Hana was not happy with this answer and to top it off her daughter was present to hear what this woman was saying. 'I will let a child die here.'

"You will either help him or you will die before he does. As it is too far to take him to the Hyuuga residence, I brought him here. I am guessing that the care here would be the same for anyone who is brought here am I correct?" Hana angrily asked.

All the nurse could do was nod as the color slowly drained from her skin.

"You will treat him so that he can be moved so that a physician in the Hyuuga residence. Am I making myself clear?" Raising her voice so that the others in the ER would hear her, "Anyone who attempts to hurt Naruto Uzumaki until he leaves my families care will suffer the consequences!"

This caused those that had slowly made their way towards Naruto to turn around and sit back down.

A doctor came out with a bag of medical supplies, mostly gauss and tape. He cut the boys bloody shirt and pants off. He removed the kunai imbedded in his stomach and the one in his left chest. Hana moved Hinata to another gurney as the doctor worked on Naruto. The doctor finished after twenty minutes, he turned to Hana. "This is all my bosses would allow me to do for you I wish there was more. You can transport him now. I am truly sorry for the ignorance and those who forgot their oath to help all those in need."

He then bowed deeply to Hana. "I will take this up with the Hokage tomorrow. I am sure your physicians will be better able to help the boy. He is malnourished and in need of lots of liquids and nutrition. Please forgive the actions of the others. I will take full responsibility and will accept any punishment you deem fitting for our inattentiveness." He finally raised himself from his deep bow.

Hana bowed slightly to the doctor. "Thank you doctor I will also see the Hokage also about this incident and also your part in helping. You have mine and my clan's thanks. Others could learn from your example." She exclaimed as her lavender pupil-less eyes bored into the nurse who was so rude to her only a few minutes ago.

Hana took the boy onto her hip and turned to Hinata, "Come Hinata-chan we need to go home now." She carried him away with Hinata following very tired looking but smiling.

When they arrived at the Hyuuga residence the guards opened the gates letting them in with a bow. Hana turned to Hinata, "Hinata-chan, go get cleaned up and go to bed. You will be able to see him in the morning. I am sure he will be alright."

Hinata smiled and looked at her mother, "Yes mother." She then headed off to her room.

"Hiashi darling, I will be in the medical ward if you need me." She said as she past Hiashi's study.

A look a surprise crossed his face as what his wife said registered in his tired brain. He got up from his desk and accidentally scattered several scrolls off of the desk. "What did you say Hana?"

He left his study in a rush and followed his wife as she headed towards the medical ward. They were there quickly. She was putting a child who was covered in bandages onto an open bed. When he saw the golden locks he instantly knew who she had brought home. "Hana what is the meaning of this?" Hiashi almost yelled at his wife. He also noticed the blood stains on her kimono. "Was there an incident?"

"Shhh… Hiashi darling, you need to be quiet he is sleeping. Now we will go to the Hokage tomorrow morning but until then we need to make sure he has lots of liquids and nourishment." She waved at a nurse in the other room. "I need a couple of IV drips here. Full nutrient and fluid replenishment." The nurse nodded and went off to get the requested materials. "Now Hiashi be a dear and help me tuck our guest in for the night."

Hiashi quietly walked over and helped his wife. They then watched the nurse put in the IV's, Naruto seemed to improve almost immediately. Hiashi posted a guard at the door for the night and told the guard and nurse that no one was to know about the guest.

"Hana darling? You know how the town feels about him, but you still brought him here?" Hiashi asked calmly.

"The boy was running for his life." She then looked Hiashi in the eyes. "A child that young should never have to run for their lives. That is inhumane."

"I agree but also you must take into account that most of the town feel that he is a demon, not the jailor. I know the difference, but both councils will be opposed to doing anything for the boy. I know there is bad blood between the boy and several members of both the council and the branch family." Hiashi started to shake his head and smile.

"And don't get me started with the village council. Some want him to become a weapon, other don't care just wanting him gone. And still others want to end his life as soon as they can. You and I both know who his parents are. Both councils have forbid us from adopting him. But most of them are opposed because we would offer him protection and sanctuary. While others believe we will be corrupted by him and turn the family evil." Hiashi chuckled at the notion of Naruto Uzumaki corrupting his clan.

Hana rested a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Darling, we have an opportunity to show the child who and what he can become."

"I agree. Now let's get you cleaned up and go to bed as we will have a long day tomorrow." Hiashi said affectionately as he and Hana cleaned up before they went to bed.

The next afternoon Hiashi entered the compound in an angry fit. "Damn council! What do they know?"

Hana worried about what was going on ran up to her husband. "What is going on darling?"

Hiashi took a breath and calmed down. "The village council had decided in their great wisdom that we should release the boy today and put him in the middle of town near the bars. I argued that it is tantamount to murder. They didn't seem to care."

Horror was showed across Hana face. "I will not let them. I would soon leave the village than put a child in that area. Why would they do that? Don't they know who he is? Who he really is?"

Hiashi shook his head. "No they don't. Not even with Sarutobi-sama only dropping hint at it, 'The legacy of the Yondame', or 'The named hero by the fourth'. He will not just come out and say it. I do not know why, other than the Uchiha were jealous of him. And Iwa would want to kill him out of spite."

"Have you submitted the paperwork with the Hokage for the betrothal?" Hana asked slyly.

Hiashi smiled. "Of course it is logged this morning and for their sixteenth birthday. I hope they will be happy together." A dark look crossed his face. "If only the council would leave him alone."

"Only five more months or so and we will have another to take care of." Hana smiled as she rubbed her belly.

Hiashi smiled. "So it is confirmed, we are having another?"

Hana nodded. "I will talk to you later darling."

Hiashi smiled and nodded as another Hyuuga approached him. "Lord Hiashi, Lord Uchiha is here to see you."

Hiashi thanked the woman who told him that an annoyance was at the front gate. "Thank you, I will see him in my study if you please." Bowing a dismissal to the woman and thinking 'What does that bastard want? Well I had better get this over with so that Hana and we can celebrate another child.'

When he arrived at his study Fugaku was already sitting before his meeting table. "Ah Fugaku, to what do I owe this honor?" Hiashi said without a hint of the venom he really held for this man, if you could call him one. Hiashi then sat behind his working table and looked at Fugaku.

Fugaku raised his head showing his Sharingan and smiling evilly, "We have a few things to discuss."

A/N: What is Fugaku up too?

Okay I fixed the disclaimer and some of the text so it flows better. I hope you enjoy my little tale that will not really follow cannon for the most part. There will be some cannon areas but most will be totally off the grid so far as the story. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

I hope you enjoyed chapter 1. I hope you enjoy this chapter…

Chapter 2 –

Fugaku raised his head showing his Sharingan and smiling evilly, "We have a few things to discuss."

Hiashi was surprised as this was tantamount to declaring a clan war. But he did was not able to turn his Byakugan on in time. "How may I serve you Lord Uchiha?"

"I am glad to see that you are always accommodating to the other clans Hiashi." Fugaku said with a smile, "First I would like you to sign these papers. They are nothing really. It is just the betrothal of your heir to my youngest, and the subjugation of your clan to the superiority of the Uchiha clan. You understand what I am telling you?"

Hiashi just nodded as tears ran down his face. He signed the paper as he was ordered.

"You will not remember the betrothal until she is older. Also I would like you to push your daughter to become stronger. She is weak now and needs encouragement. Our children will not have weak offspring. Do you hear me?"

"Yes Lord Uchiha we will comply with your wishes. Is there anything else you needed?" Hiashi asked in a monotone voice.

"No now, I guess our business has been concluded." Fugaku smiled as he deactivated his Sharingan. "Hiashi I want you to turn over the demon brat. We should have him killed but we will at least give him a fighting chance."

Hiashi was very angry now, "Why did you show your Sharingan? You realize that this could constitute an attack on me personally and upon my clan?"

Fugaku bowed his head hiding his smile. "A thousand pardons Lord Hyuuga. I was not aware I had activated it. You have my sincere apologies. As for the child we would like him and now would be a good time."

"You will not have him, not today!" Hiashi felt the tears on his cheeks and was nearly ready to attack Fugaku. "Leave my house! And never return! I will not suffer your presence any longer. You have attacked me and I will report this to the Hokage. I know the military police will do nothing. Also attempted assassination of a citizen is crime and you are plotting for the murder of Naruto Uzumaki. Hell, nearly the whole council is! Get out! Get out now! Or they will be finding a new head for your clan!"

Fugaku stood and beat a hasty retreat from the Hyuuga complex. He smiled all the way to the Hokage's office, as he had just made a political coup. Control of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga will be in the Uchiha hands from now on.

He entered the Hokage's office with a smile. "I am here to see the Hokage about some documents to be filed. I also have some police reports for him."

The secretary nodded and showed him immediately in. The Hokage smiled, "Welcome Fugaku. How may I help the leader of the Uchiha today?"  
Fugaku bowed, "I have the standard and elevated police reports you asked for." He placed the reports on the desk. He then pulled out a couple sheets of paper. "I also have some great news."

"And what may that be, if I may ask?" The Hokage questioned.

"Hiashi and I have ironed out a deal between our clans." Fugaku replied as the Hokage smiled. "Our children are to be wed. Little Sasuke and Hinata are now betrothed. Now our two clans will be inseparable."

"That is most excellent." The Hokage hid his doubts as he knew that earlier Hiashi has given him the documents that Hinata and Naruto were to be betrothed. This turn of events was not to his liking as he knew that Hanna Hyuuga was pushing for the betrothal to Naruto. "So when is the announcement?"

"The announcement will be when they make chunin or when they are sixteen, whichever comes first." Fugaku aped proudly.

"So little Sasuke will learn about political marriages, I am glad Hiashi and you could get this ironed out. So did Hanna agree to this also? I know she is not very happy about political marriages." Sarutobi asks questioningly.

"Yes, she whole heartily approves of it." Fugaku did not know about her not liking arranged marriages. 'Well I will have to get rid of her so that she cannot block this union and the Uchiha taking the rightful place at the head of the village.'

"You know that they are expecting again? A second child won't that be so nice?" Sarutobi said to try and head off any play to eliminate Hanna anytime soon. "She will be overjoyed when the child arrives. She is only in her third month of pregnancy."

"I can understand how she feels, as I remember when Mikoto was pregnant with Sasuke. She would go on and on about what she was going to do." Fugaku smiled remembering Mikoto's emotional state during her pregnancy.

"The children will be entering the academy soon. I have included Naruto Uzumaki to the roster. Please make sure that he is protected. If not I will have the officer in charge of his care have a meeting with Ibiki. Do I make myself clear?" Sarutobi made his voice very low and threatening.

"Perfectly, Hokage-sama!" Fugaku saluted. "I will have my best men on it. I am sorry but I cannot stop the beatings but at least we can stop them in the academy. Will there be anything else?"

"No you may leave Fugaku." Sarutobi said kindly as Fugaku left.

Snapping his fingers a raven masked ANBU appeared. "You summoned Hokage-sama?"

"Yes , I would like to speak with Hiashi Hyuuga. Could you please fetch him for me?" Sarutobi requested.

"Hai!" The ANBU responded as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

'What are you up too Fugaku? Has the loyalty of the Uchiha gone so far down that they would plot against the other clans and the village?' Sarutobi contemplated.

About ten minutes later Hiashi appeared. "Hokage-sama, you summoned me?"

"Yes old friend. How are the preparations for the betrothal? And how is the expectant mother doing?" Sarutobi asked joyfully.

"Hanna is doing fine thank you. She is still only a few months along. The betrothal, hm…." Hiashi seemed to get a headache on this subject. "I cannot say how it is going yet as it is a long ways off. But Hinata will have to work hard to prove herself. Also we have a visitor and the council is demanding that he be turned loose in the bar district unconscious or not." Hiashi angrily told Sarutobi.

'Just as I was afraid, Fugaku has done something to Hiashi.' Sarutobi angrily thought.

"Also I would like to file a formal complaint against Fugaku. He had his Sharingan active while in my families' compound and may have used it upon me. Though I am not sure if he did or not." Hiashi's attitude changed. "Hinata will be in the academy and will be expected to perform to my expectations."

"I understand, go see Inoichi, he will be able to find out if there was something done. Oh, and say hi to Naruto for me. I have an apartment ready for him, here are the keys. Remind him to lock up after he is not there and when he goes to bed."

Hiashi nods as he leaves.

'I am sorry Naruto and Hinata, I am not sure that the council will see and acknowledge the first betrothal. I must check in with my informants in the Uchiha clan. And then if I have to I will implement operation 'Red Eye'. I am just hoping that the village will not be too hard on them. Hiashi is under a lot of strain right now and adding to it would not be a good thing.' Sarutobi paused in thought. Yelling "Get me Inoichi! I need him now!"

About fifteen minutes later Inoichi appeared at Sarutobi's door. "You rang for a florist Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi chuckled. "Well the Hyuuga will need one in a few years. They have a betrothal, and that is why I have you here." Sarutobi got a stern look on his face."Funny thing just happened."

Inoichi raised a blond eyebrow, "And that would be?"

"Earlier today Hiashi brought me betrothal papers for Hinata Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki." Inoichi appeared intrigued. "A about an hour ago Fugaku appeared with betrothal paper and papers for Sasuke to take over the ruler ship of the Hyuuga as he was betrothed to Hinata Hyuuga. I smell something is amiss. Your opinion? Oh and before you say anything, Hiashi told me that Fugaku visited him just before he came here with an active Sharingan."

"Well, if all the pieces you have here are correct then we have a problem. I know for a fact that Hanna wants to have Hinata and Naruto together. Though I am not certain why she wants to have Naruto, a demon vessel, in the family. He is nice and all but I am not sure why. But changing so soon after delivering the paper would seem that something foul was done. Did the second have Hanna signature on it?" Inoichi questioned.

Sarutobi shook his head. "No, only the first document had her signature on it. The second had Hiashi's and Fugaku's only. I want you to scan Hiashi but not tell him the results until after you discuss it with me. If what I thing happened did indeed happen then there will be several tragedies in the next little while. Thank you again for your council, I am sure it will be kept in confidence."

Inoichi bowed. "As always Sarutobi-sama, I am at your service. I am afraid that most of the village young female population will be sad to hear that Sasuke is off the market." He said with a wink. "But I am not sure how Fugaku will like having Naruto for a son-in-law." Both laughed at this comment. "Seriously, I will support the first document dealing with Naruto's right to refusal in the betrothal.. But as he is treated now he would be better served if he took it and showed those stuffed up Uchiha a lesson. Forgive my bluntness but they are just too arrogant for their own good. I am sure that they have stolen more than they have created for and too this village."

"They share little of the jutsu they take from other villages. I am not even sure they understand the jutsu they take. Oh and I have no problem with you speaking your mind. It is most refreshing after dealing with Fugaku. Now go, I am sure that Hiashi will be waiting for you."

"Always a pleasure Hokage-sama. I have a clan head to meet, must get ready for him." Inoichi said as he left the office.

Sarutobi contemplated again on the things the village had to deal with. 'Until he returns with some information either way I will have to set some things into motion.' Looking at a picture on the wall, 'I am sorry your son is having a hard time and they will not listen to reason. He is a hero, in more ways than one. I just wish that she was here since you could not. I wish her village was here also so that I could send him there to keep him safe.'

"Send me Kikiyo Uchiha!" Sarutobi yelled through the door.

Ten minutes later a raven haired young woman entered his office. "Kikiyo Uchiha reporting as ordered, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi looked up with a sad face. "I am setting stage one of operation Red Eye in motion. You know what to do."

"Are you sure?" Kikiyo asked with a surprised look on her face.

Sarutobi just nodded.

"As you wish Hokage-sama. It will take a year or so to accomplish this. But we will be ready." Kikiyo said and bowed as she left.

'Luckily stage one will only get things ready. Stage two, I can live with, it is stage three that I have a problem with. Now I think I understand why you did not trust the Uchiha, my former Hokage?'

A/N: What is operation 'Red Eye'… I won't tell…. Muhahahahaha….


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own only the plotline and not Naruto or any of the characters.

Enjoy the chapter.ff

Chapter 3 – Academy troubles

Naruto was entered into the academy early to keep him out of trouble and keep those that wanted to hurt him away. Hiashi was pushing Hinata to perform beyond any reasonable expectations and he was not sure why. Hanna died in childbirth with Hanabi. Sarutobi suspected foul play but could not prove it as she seemed to be suffering from hemophilia just before she delivered Hanabi. Fugaku had some of his non-Uchiha officers protecting Naruto so he was better protected mostly. Naruto also learned from some of the ANBU how to run away better and hide his presence, one in particular was a wolf masked Uchiha.

The next couple years were hard for all involved. The Uchiha were having problems with the Hokage and the elders on the council. The Hyuuga mainly the elders and Hiashi were having problems Hinata's progress, as in she was not progressing fast enough. Hinata was sent to the academy by Hiashi as he did not think she was worthy of the Hyuuga name so she was pushed aside for Hanabi's training. Naruto was having problems with teachers at the academy not teaching him. They would mostly send him outside the classroom saying that he was a disruptive influence and was needed to be removed from class often.

Around Naruto's seventh birthday he was talking to a fellow student Hinata who was brought to the academy by a chunin instructor name Kurenai. "Morning Hinata! How are you?" Naruto asked.

"F… Fine Naruto-kun. H… H… How are you?" Hinata answered with a blushing face and a smile.

"Great, if they can keep me in class today. Morning Kurenai sensei." Naruto smiled a foxy grin.

"Good morning Naruto. What do you mean if they keep you in class?" Kurenai asked as if confused. She had never had a problem with Naruto but also has never had him in any of her classes.

"Well the stupid teachers keep on saying I am disrupting class and won't teach me anything."

"T… That is awful Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a gasp.

"Which subject are you having trouble with? I might be able to help you if my duties do not interfere." Kurenai suggested with a smile.

"Really? You could help me? That would be great. Well let see. Reading, writing, math, chakra studies, and oh yeah understanding basic taijutsu." Naruto said with a huge smile.

"What? Naruto did you know that is the whole curriculum?" Kurenai said shocked that he needed help with every subject.

Naruto scratches the back of his head and gives and embarrassed smile. "Well you see. All my teachers do as little as they can to help me. I have had to learn how to read on my own, and I know I am not that good at it. Also I have seen the tests that I take and that the other students take. Mine are a lot harder. I am sure I could pass the tests the others get." Naruto said as his grin faltered but then recovered.

"That is terrible Naruto-kun." Hinata was appalled that her friend was having such problems.

"Naruto, meet me and Hinata after school tomorrow and we will work on some of the things you need help on. I know tomorrow is the festival but meet us in the park by the lake. We will be there at four." Kurenai said as she rumpled his hair.

"Okay sensei, I will be there. Even though I usually hide on that day." Naruto said with a slight quiver in his voice and an apprehensive look on his face.

The next day Naruto missed Hinata in school as she did not show up at all. His teachers were being their usual but selves by kicking him out for the important part of a lesson or ignoring his questions. He finished the day and hid in the woods near the park until four.

Hinata had missed the day's academy for the reason that that clan council had determined to test her on her abilities to use the gentle fist style. She was pitted against her cousin Neji who was ruthless in beating her and not showing her where she had made mistakes. The council was not pleased and determined that she would be either have the caged bird seal put on her or jusft eliminated.

Hinata while beaten and bruised wanted to see her friend Naruto. She packed a day pack and headed towards the park. She had seen several of the branch guards keeping a close eye on her for some reason and she was not sure why. Even so she snuck out and headed towards the park.

Kurenai was held up by paperwork given to her by another teacher Mizuki. The work took her several hours and she would be late arriving to meet with Naruto, she told Mizuki to go and let Naruto know about this and with that Mizuki headed to the park.

Mizuki found Naruto waiting for Kurenai just inside the forest that bordered the park. Hinata arrived just in time to see Mizuki hit Naruto with a shuriken. Naruto ran towards town and Mizuki followed. Hinata instead headed towards his apartment. Naruto was eventually able to evade Mizuki and go back to his apartment. He found a beaten and crying Hinata waiting at his door.

He quickly opened the door and grabbed as much of his stuff as he could. "What are you doing Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"I am leaving. Isn't evident that I am not wanted in the least in this village. You are my friend aren't you?" Naruto asked with fear evident on his face.

"Y… Yes Naruto-kun, I am your friend." Hinata answered as the door burst open with two chunin Hyuuga looking ready to fight.

"Hinata Hyuuga you are found by the council to be lacking and are thus not worthy of living as you will not be a good head for the family. It has been decided that you will either take the caged bird seal or you will die." One of the chunin stated bluntly.

"What do you think you are doing breaking into my house and threatening my friend?" Naruto asked angrily.

"Shut up demon. We will handle you in a minute. So Hinata what is your decision. As it stands now you are betrothed to both the demon and Sasuke Uchiha. They want the demon eliminated and you are not up to par for marrying the Uchiha. You are not worthy to be his wife or heir for the Hyuuga. Now decide."

Hinata had a look of utter fear in her eyes as she cried. "I don't want to marry Sasuke."

Naruto was confused by the turn of events but was not happy to hear that the Hyuuga clan council wanted to kill him. "You mean you are going to kill us both in cold blood? We are not even ninja yet. We are only academy students."

"Shut up demon, you are going to die today as is the weakling heir." The chunin stated coldly.

Naruto not thinking grabbed his pack and Hinata's hand and leapt out the window. They landed on a roof near his apartment. They then headed towards the gate as they spotted other Hyuuga chunin were blocking their path to the Hokage. They continued to run and dodge kunai and shuriken. Kurenai saw this and started to head towards the battle only to be knocked out by a passing Uchiha who then also gave chase.

Naruto and Hinata made it to the gates and found the guards there. They asked for help but the guards would not help as the Hyuuga approached. They wanted nothing to do with the situation. Seeing that they would get no help they ran out the gates and into the surrounding forest heading northwest.

After running for twenty minutes Hinata was tiring quickly so they rested only to be found by a Lightning ninja. "What do we have here? An unsealed Hyuuga and a blond brat, I am sure I could get a good reward for this." The ninja commented.

"You will not have the child. All three of you will die by our hands." One of the pursuing Hyuuga said.

"Okay let's play and see who gets the prize." The lightning ninja drew his sword and charged the five Hyuuga chunin.

"Hinata I know you are tired but we need to run some more so that we might get away." Naruto said as he helped her up to her feet. They ran again towards the northwest. They were able to go for about another ten minutes before Hinata collapsed from exhaustion. Naruto grabbed her and helped hide them both in the crook of a tree.

About ten minutes later they heard a voice calling to them. "Come on little children come out come out where ever you are. I will take you away from here." They recognized it as the voice of the Lightning ninja. They pressed even harder against the tree.

Suddenly a bloody face popped out of from beside the tree. "Boo! I found you! Now you will come with me!" The ninja demanded.

Naruto immediately stood in front of Hinata with his arms held wide blocking the way to Hinata. The ninja just pushed a kunai into his stomach and hit Naruto aside. "Foolish boy you have no chance of fighting a jonin like me. Even five Hyuuga and an Uchiha were no match for me. What makes you think you are even have a chance against me? You are a fool and will…" He was cut off when Hinata hit him in the chest with a chakra laced palm. He coughed then drew another kunai slashing it at Hinata. "You little bitch!"

The kunai dug into her right chest scraping the bone and dragged up and across her chest leaving a cut that exited right near her jugular vein. She collapse in a lump as the jonin felt a spike in evil chakra from his left where Naruto had ended up in a heap. He looked and saw a pool of blood, but the boy was attempting to rise even with the loss of so much blood. The jonin suddenly felt a pain the back of his neck as he heard someone say "killing children is not the way of a shinobi."

A/N: Is it an ally or an enemy? Will Hinata and Naruto survive this encounter.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

Well I hope you are ready for some more twists and turns.

Chapter 4 – Saved…

"Killing children is not the way of the shinobi. Now rest in peace you jerk. Now start taking pictures and then we can patch the kids up." A man with red hair a spiral symbol on his headband ordered.

"Yes sir. Wow she is pale I am not sure she is going to make it." A blond male announced as he took pictures of Hinata.

"The boy is not in much better shape. Got the pictures… Wait… he is moving…" The blond jumped up in surprise as Naruto was crawling towards Hinata.

"What are you talking about Hideki? He lost too much blood to be moving." The leader stated.

"Hi… Hinata… Must save… Hinata…" Naruto said as he crawled to her side. "Cold… her hands are cold… Must help her…" Naruto touched the wound on her chest his hand while it was covered in red chakra. Her wound healed in seconds leaving a nasty scar.

"**You owe me kit.**" Was all Naruto heard as he passed out on top of Hinata.

"They both appear to be out of danger for the moment. They are still in critical condition but they should be okay. Let's make them comfortable as they are not in any condition to be moved at this time." The female of the group announced as she continued to monitor the children's condition. "She is going to be sore when she wakes up. I have never seen chakra act like that how about you guys?"

"Like what? Hey got student ID's on both of them. This one is a one Hinata Hyuuga and the other one is… wait a damn minute! This can't be right?" Hideki said as he was going through the backpacks.

"What can't be true?" The leader asked.

"His name is… Naruto… Uzumaki… Captain this could be a child of Kushina's if the name is correct. I know she had red hair but blond is not that uncommon in our village." Hideki answered.

"We will deal with the chakra later just stabilize them. Sango and Hideki both of you will stay with the children. If he proves to be what he appears to be and what we heard was correct we are looking at an attempted assassination of both Hinata Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki, and that would be an affront to the village hidden in the Whirlpool. Kenta and I will head into Konoha and finish our assignment. Keep those kids out of sight and also burn the bodies of all the ninjas, except for the lightning nin as we can take him back and examine him later, we also want to be able to leave without a trace if what I fear is true."

The black haired Kenta and the captain headed to the gates of Konoha. They were greeted by the guards and asked to see the Hokage.

They were led to the Hokage. Upon entering the Hokage's office the captain spoke. "Greetings, Hokage from the newly reestablished Uzi village. We are here to deliver the documents of recognition to your village and the documents of alliance. We have gotten permission from Iwa to reestablish the village hidden in the Whirlpool. They have helped us restart the village and want this to be a way of securing better relations with Konoha. We are an independent village as verified by these documents."

"Hmm… May I take a look at the documents please…" Sarutobi said as he took the scrolls.

"Certainly, here you go." He said as he handed the scrolls to Sarutobi.

"Also I would like to report an incident outside your village. We ran into a Lightning ninja just outside of your walls. There were six ninja from your village killed outside your village. He and the Konoha nin were fight over a couple of children who were severely injured and may not make it. We disposed of the Konoha bodies and we are taking the Kumo ninja's body. The children's names are Hinata Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki. I know she was from the Hyuuga line but seemed to have injuries from being attacked by her own clan. Also I must ask if Naruto was the son of Kushina?"

"Yes he was the child of Kushina. But I must report that she is no longer among the living. She died giving birth to Naruto. I am sorry." Sarutobi said with a sad look on his face.

"I hereby am informing you that this incident does concern the village of Uzi as the child is a member of a prestigious clan and he was attacked by Konoha ninja. This worries us that Konoha would attack the grandson of the leader of Uzi. This makes me think that Konoha will not appreciate Uzi." The captain said with a serious tone.

"The children appeared to have been running away from the village. If that information is of any value to you. Also here are the photos of what we found."

Sarutobi looked disturbed by the photos, Naruto was very pale almost gray as was Hinata. Naruto was in a pool of his own blood and had several bruises consistent with being attacked by a Hyuuga as did Hinata. "I would agree that this is serious and that the Hyuuga and Uchiha are after Naruto. I also think that the Hyuuga clan council is after Hinata. So may I ask you their actual condition?"

"I Ichiro Uzumaki, brother of Kushina, Uncle of Naruto can tell you nothing while there are ANBU present." Ichiro said angrily.

Sarutobi snapped his fingers and four swirls of leaves were followed by puffs of smoke. "You may continue as they have left and what we say now will not be given to the council."

"I thank you Lord Hokage. Naruto and Hinata are severely injured but will live. It appears that they are not wanted by this village. We of the Whirlpool would love to have them to come and live with us in our village. To allay any fears you may have. We are not looking to take the coveted Byakugan I am just worried about her safety." Ichiro replied with a caring voice.

"I also can guess who Naruto's father was. I will not tell him or Iwa. But in knowing who he was, I have to ask how could your village do that too Naruto?" Ichiro asked.

"There is more to it than you think. I also have other information for you but I am not sure how to deal with this… But here are a couple copies of some documents that you should see." Sarutobi handed Ichiro a couple scrolls.

Ichiro smiled as he read the first scroll, his smile turned to outrage as he read the second scroll. "How could the bastard do this? I see the time stamps on both. The second was entered after the first. Also it lacks the wife's signature. So seriously, which would you honor Hokage?" Ichiro asked angrily.

"Me? I would honor the first. But the clan council and the village council would honor the second. If only to spite Naruto and boost the Uchiha ego. But the Hyuuga clan would not honor the second part of the second scroll as they would never bow to the Uchiha. I would ask your village a request before I submit the alliance the village council." Sarutobi said with a sly smile.

"And what would that be Hokage-sama?" Ichiro asked.

"I would request that you take both Naruto and Hinata to your village and train them. Also there are about fifty other people I would like for you to take with you if you would." Sarutobi said with a smile. "This is all off the record of course?"

Ichiro smiled, "Yes of course off the record. So how soon can you have these people assembled?"

"By the end of the day and they will leave during the festival." Sarutobi looked at Ichiro and said with sadness in his voice. "You know Naruto turns seven today. Please keep him safe. Both Naruto and Hinata will be listed as missing. I will drop the search in a couple days. The people I have assembled will help you transport the two children. There are about ten families you are taking with you. They will not be missed until after the festival and maybe not even then."

"Okay we will see them safely to the whirlpool. I am assuming these people you want me to take are loyal to you and not to the council or a clan." Ichiro stated.

Sarutobi nodded.

"Have your people meet me here." Pointing to point to the northwest of the village near where Naruto and Hinata were.

"Your contact will be Kikiyo Uchiha. She will be the guard for the people we discussed." Sarutobi said while putting up a hand. "I am trying to save the loyal Uchiha, I am afraid the council will deal with the others. They will now become the Uchiwa. This is my gift to the alliance, off the record of course."

Ichiro bowed, "As you wish Lord Hokage. Lord Takashi Uzumaki will await the return of the documents either signed or not. How do you want to deal with the Hyuuga situation? We did destroy the dead bodies of your people, as per our previous arrangement. You can have the pictures. We will leave and see what this festival of yours has to offer after we finish here."

"I will handle the Hyuuga. I will take the pictures and have my ANBU look at the area. The story will be that both your team and the ANBU met where a Kumo nin and my nin were fighting, none survived so the bodies were destroyed. The children will be considered lost. As Hiashi is now he will not have a problem with the loss of his eldest and the clan council will be happy. I do not like it but until we can figure a way around a Sharingan genjutsu we are stuck with this being the best option. Naruto can come back later for his inheritance."

"I understand Hokage-sama. We will take our leave of you now." Ichiro bowed and led Kenta out of the Hokage's office.

"Get me Kikiyo Uchiha now!" Sarutobi yelled out of his office. 'I hope we can use the Lightning ninja to our advantage and I hope the council will not act anytime soon.'

Kikiyo enter the office and bowed. "You summoned Hokage-sama?"

Handing over the pictures to Kikiyo Sarutobi waited until he saw her reaction. "So what is your impression?"

"First I am appalled that Naruto and Hinata-sama were hurt. Secondly why were they hurt by both the Hyuuga and a Kumo shinobi?" Kikiyo gasped. "That is Kodai Uchiha…"

The door burst open with a stumbling and bleeding Kurenai. "Hokage-sama I am sorry to interrupt a meeting but I must report that Hinata and Naruto were being attacked by a group of Hyuuga shinobi. I apologize for not reporting earlier but I was knocked unconscious and only just woke up."

"Well that would explain it. I think Kodai Uchiha was the one who knocked you out for the count. Unfortunately your wards were not so lucky. They ran into a Kumo nin also. Guess Naruto's luck ran out and took poor Hinata with him." Kikiyo said as she handed the pictures to Kurenai.

"No, I am sorry I could not save…" Kurenai said as she was flipping through the photos. She looked at Sarutobi questioningly and he nodded. "So are they missing or dead?" She said with a smile.

"They are missing but their photos will not go beyond the three of us. Is that understood? Also Kurenai could you help Kikiyo with a project for me? Again only the three of us should know. Please go to the hospital and get your wounds treated. I would like you to then tell Hiashi the bad news about his daughter." Sarutobi said with a grin that would make Naruto proud.

The village council was given the pictures of the Lightning ninja, the five dead Hyuuga, and the Uchiha. They also went over the alliance document and signed it quickly so they could go enjoy the festival and the disappearance and possible death of a certain demon container. The festival was the best it had been in years. Fifty three people thought differently, but were happy in their knowledge that things were better then they appeared.

That night 11 family homes in the Uchiha district were destroyed by an explosion and resulting fire. The festival caused the response to the fire to be delayed so that all the families were lost.

In the Hyuuga compound Hiashi was in his study not knowing why he was crying as he filled out the paperwork for the clan. Kurenai had delivered the message that Hinata was missing and presumed dead. This had upset Hiashi but as a Hyuuga he had shown little emotion, but for some reason he could not hold back that he was angry and hurt. Also the Hyuuga clan council was ecstatic that both Naruto and Hinata were gone.

At a boat crossing at the valley of the end there was a group of people crossing the lake at the top of the waterfalls.

The Uchiha mourned the loss of fifty members from their clan.

--

A/N: I just could not kill off the Uchiha, but these were the rejects by the clan so they were considered trash by most of the clan. Also they were the librarians for the clan and not 'real' warriors so that is another strike against them. Maybe they will be happier in the Whirlpool village…


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only this storyline.

I will have some information at the end of the chapter about the Uchiha and others. Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 5 – Different lives…

Naruto woke up lying in a moving wagon under a blanket next to Hinata. His head hurt as did his stomach. He pulls up the blanket and notices his stomach is bandaged as is Hinata's chest. Embarrassed he quickly puts the blanket back over her and himself, but disturbing Hinata in the process. While she does not wake she turns onto her side and snuggles up to Naruto. Naruto turns beat red from the closeness as he has never been this close to another person let alone a girl.

He looks up and sees a smiling female face framed in black hair with ebony eyes. "So you're finally are awake? Looks like she found a nice pillow, you think?"

Naruto for once in his life was at a loss for words. Being so close to someone both excited him and scared him to death. All he could do was try to remember how he got here bandaged, nearly naked and sleeping in a wagon next to a nearly naked Hinata. He tried to speak but all he could muster was an 'EEP!' as Hinata shifted again wrapping her leg around his leg.

This woke Hinata up. All she saw as a sea of blond. She thought that the teddy bear she was snuggling up with was a little large, warm and that she was not in her regular bed. 'Wait blond teddy bear?' She moved her leg up and felt that her leg was bare as was the one hers was wrapped around.

"Ah. You're up too, good. I think you like your teddy bear. He is cute too isn't he?" Kikiyo said with a smile on her face.

Hinata sat up and slowly turned towards Naruto. She saw that he was bandaged around the stomach and face. He also was not wearing anything other than boxers. She then noticed that she was only wearing bandages around her chest and panties. She immediately passed out. Naruto immediately pulled up the blanket to cover them both up.

Naruto continued to just stare up at the sky and the passing trees.

"So what did you do last night to wake up next to a pretty girl like her?" Kikiyo asked Naruto with a laugh in her voice.

Naruto continued to look up into the sky but had a confused look on his face. "What do you mean? We were attacked by a Lightning nin and some Hyuuga chunin. The last thing I remember was…" Naruto's head started to hurt even worse. "I saw that Hinata was hurt and I went to try to help… I heard a voice say that I owed them… Then I woke up with no clothes on next to Hinata. You tell me what I did last night."

Kikiyo laughed as did the red headed driver. "Well nephew you saved the Hyuuga girl's life. As for owing someone I have no clue who said that. And Last night you were asleep, as was Hinata-hime."

"I am glad I was able to save her…" Naruto's face was showing utter shock. "What do you mean nephew?"

"Just what I said, you are my nephew. Happy to meet you Naruto, I am Ichiro Uzumaki of the village hidden in the whirlpool. You are going to live with me as is your friend. Also there are a few things that we need for you and Hinata to talk about. Also I would like to know about your schooling. As we are taking over it and we are going to make a great shinobi out of you." Ichiro said with a big grin.

Naruto's eyes began to water. "I… I… I have family…"

"Yes my boy you do. A whole clan young man and your grandfather Takashi Uzumaki will be so happy to see you." Ichiro said happily.

Naruto couldn't stop crying and smiling at the same time.

"So you think he likes the news?" Kikiyo asked already knowing the answer. "Wait till he hears all the other news." Causing both Ichiro and Kikiyo to both laugh hysterically.

Naruto felt a finger wipe the tears from his left cheek. "Naruto-kun…?" Hinata spoke quietly.

Naruto hesitant and almost at information overload looked over at Hinata lying next to him. He could not stop his eyes from tearing and his mouth was quivering not able to form words. Hinata shifted and hugged him as he lost all control and cried his heart out. "Oh Naruto-kun… It is ok…"

Kikiyo and Ichiro watched and smiled kindly as Naruto let his emotions go and Hinata comforted him. "They make a cute couple don't they?" Kikiyo said quietly causing Ichiro to nod and Hinata to blush but not release Naruto. Kikiyo put another blanket over the children to keep them warm and help sate their modesty.

About a half hour later Naruto was able to compose himself enough to release Hinata from their hug. She would occasionally wipe the tears on his face and smile at him. "Why didn't you come for me sooner?" Naruto asked looking at Ichiro.

"Sorry kid, we didn't know you were there. We knew your mother was there but we thought she was ok. If we had known we would have come sooner. I read the reports and heard the stories about what you have gone through. I am very sorry. I hope we can make it up to you Naruto. But I am sure you will not be alone any more. And you little lady will come to live with us. There are plans for you, and don't worry I think you will like them." Ichiro said while smiling at Hinata.

"I know the clan council was after you Hinata. Also your father changed, I can't elaborate on that but I think you know when it happened." Ichiro said apologetically to Hinata.

"You both will find some nice and nasty truths in the near and distant futures. We will let you know when and what you need to know. For now both of you rest we will be stopping soon and you both can take care of necessities and then eat some dinner. Also we have some clothes for you to wear unless you like your current attire." Kikiyo said teasingly, causing both children to blush.

"Oh and by the way my name is Kikiyo Uchiwa. We who fled the Uchiha will not be referred to as Uchiha anymore. Also only a few of us have active Sharingan anyways. But we did make off with a huge store of the clan library that should have burned down with our houses. That will show that fool Fugaku. He was so arrogant, as was the clan council. I hope your clans are not that way." Kikiyo says looking directly at Ichiro.

"Clan politics are for those who like to lose arguments. The clan council rarely meets and even more rarely goes against the head of the clan. When they do it is all out in the open so that there is no subterfuge. That is one reason Iwa gave us back our village status. We keep our politics in the open. Thus they do not fear us allying with Konoha, they actually hoped we would. We know they have some people in our village watching us, but we don't care. Most are open that they are spies for Iwa and that is not held against them. Also we have their promise which is backed by money and several council members in Iwa that they will not attack us or one of our citizens. They also will not accept any assassination missions on our people as we will not on theirs." Ichiro finished smiling.

An hour later the wagon stopped. "Okay kids, we are camping here tonight. Here are some clothes so you can change, I would do it quickly as it is cold and you will catch a chill if you don't change quickly."

Naruto looked at Hinata and turned away while grabbing his clothes. He stood and pulled on the pants wincing as he bent at the waist. He finished while putting on his shirt. Hinata started with the shirt and then put on her pants. She noticed that her chest hurt. They looked at each other seeing each other fully dressed smiled and slid out of the wagon. "Okay Naruto you are with me, and Hinata you're with Kikiyo as it is potty break time." Ichiro said as the camp broke into two groups, one male one female. Each group headed different direction on the sides of the camp to use the bath room in the woods.

Afterwards the group reassembled and made camp. Naruto did not stray far from Hinata all evening. Nor would Hinata stray far from Naruto. Ichiro asked Naruto to tell him how he was treated by Konoha. Naruto was slow to respond but eventually he started after Kikiyo told everyone about how he had been to the hospital more times than most shinobi for kunai and shuriken wounds. Hinata remembered back to when she first met Naruto and moved closer to him trying to comfort him as he talked. Ichiro had to hold his anger in check as to not scare Naruto so that he would finish his story.

Ichiro took a deep breath. "Well Naruto, I am impressed by your tenacity. You live up to being an Uzumaki. I am sure Takashi, your grandfather, will be impressed. I am also not very happy with Konoha, in too many ways to count. I will assure you that you will not be treated like that in Uzi. You like your friend Hinata are from a noble house. We are respected, but not feared by those of our village. You will be well treated. You might even find that you get too much attention. Just remember that you are loved and you will be fine." Ichiro pulled Naruto into a hug.

After dinner a medical nin looked at Naruto and Hinata. Not surprisingly Naruto other than being malnourished he was fine. He had several scars from his encounters with the villagers and the ninjas that hurt him over the last few years. Hinata was surprised that she had a small line of discolored skin, a scar, running from her right chest across to her collar bone on the left side. She was told that it was Naruto who had healed her. She thanked the medic and then went to Naruto.

"I would like to thank you for saving my life Naruto-kun. If there is any way I can repay you I will." Hinata bowed to Naruto causing him to blush.

Ichiro immediately pulled Hinata aside saying he had a few things to tell her. "What is it Uzumaki-san?"

"I have some good news and some bad news for you." Ichiro stated with no emotion. "Your father is under a genjutsu." Hinata gasped. "His treatment of you over the last few years has been because of this. He has not been himself since before your sister was born. Fugaku Uchiha did this to him." Tears were welling up in her eyes. "There is more, he tricked your father into signing a marriage contract for you and Sasuke Uchiha. "

She slowly shook her head as tears rolled out of her eyes. "No… no… please no…"

Ichiro kneeled down and hugged the despondent girl. He whispered in her ear "There is a way around having to marry Fugaku's son. I will tell you about it in a few years, but I advise getting to really know my nephew though. I know it is a lot to take in but we are taking you to the Whirlpool for your safety and Naruto's. I will give you a present when you make genin. It is okay Hinata you are considered family. I will make you a ward of Kikiyo if you like. You can also see Naruto any time you like. "

He held the crying girl for a little while until her sobs eased. "I know you care for Naruto, just keep doing that and I know he cares for you. You will become great friends and maybe even more. Just give it time, you are young. Now go back to the others and see if Naruto will offer you support like you did him." Ichiro said as he shooed Hinata back to the main group.

He watched as Hinata found Naruto and said something to him. He nodded and they sat by the fire and she cried into his shoulder as he hugged her. This caused Ichiro to smile as he sensed Kikiyo approach him from behind. "You are playing an adult game and not giving them much of a choice are you?" Kikiyo asked with a smile.

"Did they really have a choice to begin with? He is going to need her kindness and she needs his confidence. They both have a lot of pain, and it will do both of them good to help each other out." Ichiro said with a huge smile on his face.

"Yes, I agree with you on that case. But will she accept his curse?" Kikiyo asked almost in tears.

"Curse? What curse are you talking about?" Ichiro became very serious.

"Did you ever wonder why they called him demon? Did you want to know why they were hunting him on his birthday of all days?" Kikiyo asked with a single tear running down her face.

"I had no idea other than he was born to an outsider. You mean there is more?" Ichiro looked very concerned.

"Yes, I know more and you should too. He is the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The nine-tailed demon fox. The fourth sealed the demon into him when it attacked Konoha seven years ago. Sarutobi-sama told me before we left so that I could at least let him know when he got older." Tears ran freely now. "He was to be regarded as a hero by the village. That was the fourth's wish. Instead they thought of him as the demon incarnate. They attempted to murder him at every corner. He was spurned and chased away from shops. You understand why he is malnourished now? If people couldn't kill him fast then other would try to kill him slowly, by selling him rotten food or no food at all."

"I never raised a hand to the boy. I even offered some help on occasion, and was punished for it each time I did. The Uchiha have too many secrets and one deals with the Kyuubi." Kikiyo was holding her hands to her eyes in an attempt to stem the tears. "Those of us with you now either favor Naruto and none of us hate him at all. We all think of him as a hero. He has kept the beast at bay for the last seven years. We thank Kami for each day. We are sorry for the burden he bears."

Ichiro takes Kikiyo into his arms and gently comforted hero many secrets a. "We will figure out how to deal with this."

Ichiro then looked over at Naruto he saw that Naruto and Hinata had fallen asleep in each other's arms. An Uchiha chunin walked by and put a blanket over the two make sure they stayed warm. Ichiro smiled at the kindness that was shown. He then knew these Uchiha, no Uchiwa were friends of Naruto and the Uzumaki.

--

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Here is some information for you.

Kikiyo Uchiha/Uchiwa :

Age: 17

Rank: Jonin

She is the only fighter in the fifty Uchiwa that came with Ichiro to the whirlpool. She has only two tomes in her Sharingan. She prefers not to use her Sharingan she feels like it is a crutch. She will use it against enemies that are stronger or using new jutsu so that she can copy it. She will later write down the jutsu and work on how and when to use the jutsu. Daughter of one of the families.

Ichiro Uzumaki

Age: 28

Rank: Jonin

He is Naruto's Uncle and Kushina's brother, son of Takashi Uzumaki. Water specialist and Kenjutsu specialist.

Naruto Uzumaki

Age: 7

Rank: None

Container of nine tailed fox demon. He and Hinata know about the betrothal information but not the details. They heard this from the Hyuuga that were attacking them. Naruto of course does not understand what betrothal means. Presumed dead by Konoha.

Hinata Hyuuga

Age: 6

Rank: None

Was heir to the Hyuuga, Wounded by Lightning ninja and healed by Naruto, betrothed to Naruto and Sasuke.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters. I do own the story line… at least the non-cannon parts.

Chapter 6 – New home and family

The next morning Naruto found Hinata lying in his arms sleeping with a blanket covering both of them. He was also covered in sweat as he then remembered the nightmare that he had that night.

(Nightmare)…

I awoken suddenly and felt different somehow, he was not sure how but I was different. The cave he was in was suddenly changed to a forest as the smoke that suddenly surrounded him faded. Standing before him was a small man with red and black eyes. He was standing before Naruto and it finally dawned on him that he was not himself. He had paws and was looking down at the man. "You will come with me now! I have a job for you."

Naruto heard a voice that was not his say, "**What is thy bidding my master?**"

"We are going to destroy Konoha tonight and we will do it this time." The man said as he laughed evilly.

"**As you wish my master.**" Naruto then headed away from the man and headed through somewhat familiar forests but the trees seemed so small to him. Naruto started to feel the stings no more than a gnat biting him, even as there were hundreds of these stings it barely bothered him. He felt the other presence in his body scream and level the forest for miles. He then saw what was causing the stings small men throwing weapons at him.

The kunai and shuriken did not really bother him as they fell out soon after they hit him and the small wounds would heal immediately. He felt it scream again and about fifty of the attackers disappeared from the strength of the scream.

He then heard several saying that they had to wait for the fourth Hokage, and that they must hold until then. Then he saw it. The main village gates in the distance. Before them was a man standing on a giant toad with a scar, and smoking a pipe. The man was wearing a white cloak with flames, had blonde hair and was holding something in his arms. Naruto looked closer, he saw a baby with blonde hair like the man. There were symbols on the child.

The man set the child down and ran through a several hand signs. Naruto felt his body charging the man, but he was not able to stop the charge. He saw a blinding flash of light come from the man. He then saw a shadowy figure standing behind the man. Naruto felt as if part of him was being pulled towards the man. But he could not move.

He then felt his very soul being ripped out of his body and split sending half of it to the child and other half into the man. He went with the part that went to the child. He saw as the child's face took on the marks similar to the ones on his face and the symbol on his stomach glowed. Just as he entered the child he heard a voice say. "My son, I am sorry to put such a burden upon you. I wish I could see you grow up…" The man then coughed. "Good bye, my wish is that they treat you like a hero…" Another cough, "May this help out with your life without us. I am so, so, sorry…" The world then went black.

(End of nightmare)…

Not wanting to disturb his friend Naruto continued to not move but he then noticed that she also had a bad dream and she woke up within seconds of Naruto also sweating. He looked into her eyes saw sadness, fear, sorrow, and confusion. "Are you ok Hinata-chan? You look like you had a bad dream."

She looked at him and she started to weep. "Oh Naruto-kun…" Her sobs became more pronounce. "I do not know what to do…" She was then crying into his shoulder.

"I will tell you mine if you tell me yours." Naruto said trying to help calm Hinata. She nodded. He then proceeded to tell Hinata about his nightmare, all the vivid details. She seemed to cry even harder as he finished. "I am sorry I was hoping to help you stop crying. I'm sorry Hinata-chan."

"Naruto-kun that was the same dream I had. What does it mean?" Hinata asked with a quiver in her voice. She then buried her head in his shoulder as he started to cry.

"Well Naruto we have to talk." A voice said from behind them causing them both to jump. It was Kikiyo. "I heard you talking about the nightmare. I know what it was and since both of you had it I think there is more going on here then I at once thought. Ichiro please come here, you will also want to know this."

Hinata's crying had slowed so that she could raise her head to look at Kikiyo. Ichiro approached the three and sat down as the rest of the camp came and also sat down. Kikiyo started by taking a large breath. "According to your dream a man with red and black eyes called to you and ordered you. Is that correct?"

Naruto and Hinata both nodded in agreement.

"Ok were they somewhat similar to these?" Kikiyo asked as she activated her Sharingan.

A look of shock and fear came over both Naruto and Hinata as they both nodded.

Kikiyo then got up and walked over to another wagon and pulled out a scroll and walked back. She opened the scroll and showed it to the children, both of their eyes went wide with fear. "I am guessing that this is the person you saw in your dream. Am I correct?"

Both nodded again with fear in their eyes.

"You saw Madara Uchiha one of the founders of Konoha. He was known to be able to summon the Kyuubi. From what I can tell you both were seeing what happened seven years ago with the attack on Konoha." Kikiyo started to cry and Naruto and Hinata were not sure why.

It was only a dream wasn't it? Both Naruto and Hinata were thinking.

"Naruto, you are the child that the fourth sealed the Kyuubi in. I am sorry. And according to your dream which I believe is real you are the son of the fourth Hokage." Kikiyo said as she continued to cry.

A look of shock and horror came across Naruto's face. "That means I AM the Kyuubi." He started to cry, "No wonder they all hated me."

"Naruto-kun, no, you are kind and you are my friend." Hinata said as she buried her face into Naruto's chest hugging him tightly.

"Hush sweetie. You are not the Kyuubi. You are Naruto Uzumaki, son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, container of the Kyuubi." Kikiyo said as she reached down and hugged Naruto.

"What is the difference? They all hate me! You hate, you all hate me!" Naruto yelled as his tears ran free.

Hinata hugged Naruto even tighter. "No Naruto you are my friend, I don't care what anyone says! Naruto-kun saved me! If he is the demon then so am I!" Hinata was now crying.

"Hush, little one. You are not the demon. You are not the demon either of you. You are just a child who has it sealed within it. That means you ARE human, not a demon. Naruto, Hinata…" Kikiyo looked into their eyes. "No matter what anyone has said, you are not evil, or a demon, weak or anything of the sort. Hush little ones." Kikiyo wrapped both of them in a tight hug.

Naruto and Hinata we both startled when another person joined the group hug. They both looked up to see Ichiro smiling at both at the three he embraced. "Naruto, you are family and never forget that. No matter what has been done to you in the past you are wanted and will continue be wanted. You are the embodiment of love. Your father and mother gave their lives for yours. The others are fools and did not deserve your protection. You shall ever be a hero and my beloved nephew."

Naruto was crying as Kikiyo released him and kissed him on the forehead. Hinata refused to let Naruto go, hanging on for dear life.

"You see Naruto there are at least a few people that love you. If not everyone here in this camp, especially one young lady who seems intent on not letting my nephew go." Ichiro looking at Hinata with a huge grin causing her to blush, but she did not let go.

"I will protect my Naruto-kun, no matter what you say." Hinata said with all the bravery she could muster.

"No one in this camp with hurt YOUR Naruto-kun!" One of the Uchiwa yelled from the background causing the whole camp to yell 'Ya!'.

Naruto buried his face into Hinata's shoulder and continued to cry and hug her as tightly as he could. They soon fell asleep in each other's arms. They next found themselves waking up back in the wagon under a blanket. Hinata hugged Naruto as she woke up. Naruto returned the hug as they both sat up.

"So you're finally awake?" Kikiyo asked. "Good. Now that we have the hard part out of the way we are now going to restart your schooling."

Both children looked at Kikiyo questioningly.

"I need to know where you both are in your academics and skills. I am guessing that Naruto having the Kyuubi sealed within him gives him a huge chakra reserve. That would make chakra control one of his weaknesses. Hinata being from the Hyuuga clan would make chakra control your strength. Now I want you both to go through the basic hand signs for doing jutsu. Begin…"

Both started with the ram seal, both made the same hand sign. They then moved to what was supposed to be the monkey sign. Hinata had it right but Naruto did not. "Wait!" Kikiyo said as they were getting ready to do the next seal. "Both of you show me the 'Monkey' sign again." Both did the sign they thought was the 'Monkey' and held it. "Naruto who taught you that hand sign?"

"Mizuki-sensei did why?" Naruto replied a little sheepishly. "Why what is wr…" Naruto stopped and looked at what Hinata was doing and saw the difference. He looked rather sad. "Did I do it wrong?"

"Naruto here let me help you." Kikiyo said as she moved his fingers and corrected his hand sign. "There now that looks better." She looked at Naruto and smiled weakly. "Naruto is it not your fault that you were taught incorrectly. Hinata and I will work with you to fix what they have done and get you back on track to being a great ninja."

Naruto perked up at hearing this. He looked at Hinata's smile and nod and Naruto blushed like a ripened tomato. "Really? Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Naruto then turned away and lowered his voice. "The teachers would not spend this much time with me or even try to correct me other than to yell at me, or send me out of class."

Hinata grabbed Naruto and pulled him into a hug causing Kikiyo and Ichiro to smile at the children. "Should we tell them?" Kikiyo asked.

Ichiro shook his head. "Not until I talk to my father and the Hyuuga we have in our village." Ichiro noticed Hinata tense up when he mentioned Hyuuga. "They are not going to spill your secret that you ran away from home Hinata. We have something that will stop them."

Hinata visibly relaxed as she released Naruto who smiled a thank you to her causing her to blush slightly.

"Okay kids back to work. Hinata I would like you to work with Naruto on the correct hand signs while I watch you. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes ma'am, I am." Smiling she turned to Naruto and they proceeded to work through all twelve hand signs. Hinata was patient with Naruto who got frustrated early on with not having the proper flexibility in his hands to do some of the signs. Seeing this Hinata showed Naruto a game that would help him with learning the signs, give him flexibility in his fingers, and help speed up him being able to do proper hand signs and do them quickly. They had fun the rest of the afternoon playing the game.

They arrive at the village late in the day. The village was much smaller than Konoha. The gate had the same swirl symbol that was on Ichiro's headband and the word Uzi just below it. Naruto and Hinata were now working on basic chakra control. Kikiyo also worked with both of them, more so with Naruto than with Hinata but she would give them both her time.

The guards at the gate looked up in surprise as they saw a huge caravan moving into town. They changed from surprise to attention when they saw Ichiro. "We assume your mission to the Leaf was a success."

"More so than you can believe, we are now headed to the Leader's tower. We have increased the village's size by a whole fifty-two new people." Ichiro said with a smile.

"That is great Ichiro. Your father will be pleased." The taller chunin said as the group continued into town.

Ichiro stopped the wagon in front of a building that was similar to the Hokage tower in Konoha. "Okay everyone stay here, except for Kikiyo, Naruto and Hinata."

All seven people entered the building and went into a large office. A large man with red hair that was going to white was sitting behind a desk. "So Ichiro, how did the mission go?"

Ichiro took a deep breath. "Not how we expected. I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?"

The leader laughed from his gut. "However you like. I am just wondering who these people are." He looked closely at Hinata.

Naruto immediately stood in front of Hinata. "What do you want with her old man?"

Ichiro smiled and laughed as did the leader. "Naruto your grandfather is asking about why a Hyuuga is with us. So there is no need for you to be so defensive."

Both the leader and Naruto looked at each other in surprise. The elderly man disappeared and reappeared in front of Naruto enfolding him in a huge hug. "Your name is Naruto, right?"

Naruto just nodded as he could not breathe. He nearly passed out when Ichiro pulled him from his grandfather's death grasp. "Now easy with him he is only a student level ninja. He is also only seven years old."

Naruto looked up at his grandfather who was just looked at him as tears rolled down his face. "Continue with your report."

"Yes sir." He returned to his martial pose. "We delivered both of the documents. The Hokage thanked us and gave us a present even before he took them to the village council." Ichiro pointed out the window.

"Who is the crowd?" The leader asked.

"Well, they are the Uchiwa clan. A gift from the Hokage, they are mostly unwanted former Uchiha. Kikiyo is the only fighter they had. There are total of fifty of them." Ichiro smiled.

Naruto looked confused and blurted out "What does betrothal mean?"

Kikiyo looked at Ichiro and shrugged. He rolled his eyes and then took a deep breath. "Well Naruto, it is a marriage that is arranged. In other words either it is for a political purpose or a marriage that brings two families together. Does that help Naruto?"

Naruto nodded his head and made everyone smile, he then said "No. I don't get it. What does it mean?"

"Guess we have no choice." Ichiro took another deep breath and let it out. "Naruto, you and Hinata have an arranged marriage. You are to be married when she turns sixteen. Her parents and the Hokage signed the documents making this possible. From what I can tell Hiashi and Hanna Hyuuga wanted for you to be happy with your friend Hinata here. So they decided to have the papers drawn up that you two would be married when she reached the age of sixteen. This is an example of two families coming together."

"As you figured out from your shared dream, you are the son of the fourth Hokage of Konoha and the daughter of one of the leaders of this village. Hinata is the first born daughter of Hiashi Hyuuga and Hanna Hyuuga thus she is heir. The merging of these families is not the main purpose of the marriage it was for your happiness. Now we come to the twist." Ichiro looked like he did not want to continue but did anyways.

"Later that day Fugaku Uchiha came to the Hokage with documents for an arranged marriage between Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga." Ichiro waited for Naruto's reaction.

"What! Why would he set up two marriages for his daughter?" Naruto yelled angrily. He then moved to hold the hand of Hinata who looked as if she was going to cry. "I'm sorry Hinata. I didn't mean to yell." Hinata nodded acceptance.

"Well according to the Hokage these documents were delivered on the same day. The day after your fourth birthday, Naruto, it was too be a birthday present for you and Hinata. The one delivered by Fugaku Uchiha seems to be a fraud in the sense that he manipulated Hiashi into signing the document. Also the document Fugaku had was delivered later in the day and lacked Hanna Hyuuga's signature. This added to other things I was told makes me think that your father was put under a genjutsu and your mother may have met with foul play after your sister was born. I will leave it up to you two if you want to keep the arranged marriage valid or not. I am sure that the Uchiha and the village council will want the one with the Uchiha kept as the valid one. But we would not honor that one. You both are given the choice to either accept or reject this arrangement." Ichiro looked relieved to have finished this speech.

Naruto and Hinata looked down at their hands. They were holding each other's hand tightly. They then looked in each other's eyes. To the adults present it looked like they were talking without saying a word. In reality they were.

'So what do we do Hinata?' Naruto thought to himself not expecting an answer.

'I don't know Naruto-kun.' Hinata thought as she heard his question and could only answer in her mind.

'You can hear my thoughts Hinata-chan?' Naruto asked while he looked surprised.

'I think so Naruto-kun. I don't know how but I seem to be able too.' Hinata smiled at Naruto's question.

'So do we keep the contract or do we not?' Naruto asked, not sure what to do.

'We can keep it. If we do we can stay together and never be separated again. I would like that. Wouldn't you Naruto-kun?' Hinata looked into Naruto's eyes as if wanting him to say 'Yes.'

"We will keep it as it was her mother's and father's wish before her death and his change." Naruto then blushed. "Also we want it too, as we do not want to be apart." To which Hinata nodded her agreement.

"Okay then it has been decided. Naruto barring the refusal of the local Hyuuga you and Hinata are now betrothed. Only death will break this bond." Ichiro said with authority.

Naruto and Hinata smiled and hugged each other.

"Well now that was an adult decision young ones. I am impressed with both of you. Now Ichiro please finish your report. Oh Naruto, Hinata you can call me Takashi or grandpa, either will work as your uncle has yet to find a wife and give your grandmother and I grandchildren." Takashi said causing both Naruto and Hinata to laugh.

"Yes father, as of yet I have not found the right woman to share my life with, it may change." Ichiro looked at Kikiyo who was looking at him and blushing. "There is more to report of course. We found Naruto and Hinata on the verge of death. They had been attacked by several Hyuuga, an Uchiha and a Lightning ninja. I was able to dispatch the Lightning ninja and we took pictures of what we thought was a death scene when Naruto moved and healed Hinata."

"She had a deep cut across the chest and was bleeding to death. Naruto touched her and healed her almost as good as medical ninja, but there were also side effects. Hinata and Naruto had both lost a lot of blood. They recovered enough to be moved within a few hours. I think this was caused by the demon that is sealed within Naruto." Ichiro said as he rubbed Naruto's head.

"He is a hero several times over. I think he was able to tap the demon's chakra and use it to heal Hinata. While she does have a scar, my medic and Kikiyo's believe it will not hinder her training to become a shinobi." Ichiro concluded.

"What is their status according to the Leaf?" Takashi asked with a stern look on his face.

"They are considered missing and possibly dead by the Leaf. I confirmed this with the Hokage before I left." Ichiro answered with a smile. "So we need to find these new people a home and places in our village. They are all considered dead by explosion and resulting fire that consumed eleven families of Uchiha during the death of the demon day. It was also Naruto's birthday."

--

A/N: I will update the story as I find time. Cannon does not have all that I need. So here I go into the wilderness of my own imagination… I hope you enjoy…


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...

Hope you enjoy the chapter...

Chapter 7… Meet the family…

"What is their status according to the Leaf?" Takashi asked with a stern look on his face.

"They are considered missing and possibly dead by the Leaf. I confirmed this with the Hokage before I left." Ichiro answered with a smile. "So we need to find these new people a home and places in our village. They are all considered dead by explosion and resulting fire that consumed eleven families of Uchiha during the death of the demon day. It was also Naruto's birthday."

"There were only two others other than my people that knew the status of Naruto and Hinata. The Hokage and one other, her name was Kurenai Yuuhi. She was the guard who was supposed to deliver Hinata to the Academy and was also an instructor there. She was quite concerned for safety of both of them. She appeared to have been ruffed up by an Uchiha, who later died at the hands of the Lightning nin. We can trust her in my opinion." Kikiyo said confidently.

"Well we need to get these people into homes as soon as possible. Winter is nearly here and we need to be ready for it. So we can have a clan compound but as set about in the village charter, everyone must have a family home. So the Uchiwa will be divided among the areas of the village." Takashi raised his hand to forestall any objections. "This is so that the individuals merge with the village and are not isolated in a clan. This is for the safety of the village. You are less likely to betray your neighbor, than you are to betray a village of strangers."

Kikiyo nodded agreement. "Then we shall follow you now. As I am the only ninja in the whole Uchiwa clan, we now renounce our Konoha citizenship and if you will accept us we will become citizens of Uzi."

"We gladly accept your clan into the village. Your ten families will be a welcome addition to the village. Any of the children who want to join the academy can. I of course will want a list of names, ages, and skills of those that are here. Will you get that for me within the next few days? I also will need a list of your skills and your level when you left Konoha. If I could also get the reason for your clan leaving Konoha I would be greatly appreciative." Takashi asked with a huge smile.

"Of course I will get the information you request. I would like to personally watch over your grandson and Hinata, if that is okay with you. As for the reason we left Konoha." Kikiyo looked down and away as if in shame. "The leaders of the Uchiha clan are planning a coupe. We were loyal to Konoha more so than the clan. As we were not made up of fighting families we were looked down upon by the rest of our clan. We were historians and librarians for the most part. We also did the work that the clan did not want to do. Our families will not be initially missed. As with the arrogance of the Uchiha they will not think that they needed our support. Well I wish them luck as we left with all intentions of either becoming a new clan or leaving Konoha all together."

Kikiyo took a breath. "We would be either looked down upon or we would have been destroyed by the Uchiha if they actually succeed in their coupe. We did keep all the jutsu that the Uchiha had stolen over the years. At least the ones they actually thought to write down. I know a few unusual jutsu myself."

"As you are from Konoha and are familiar to both my grandson, Naruto, and his future wife, Hinata." Takashi said as both children blushed. "I agree that you can help them with their studies. I would prefer that you work with them after school and leave their studies to teachers." Takashi looked at her questioningly. "Is there a reason that you are worried about them?"

"Yes Takashi-sama. Both were not treated well. Naruto was neglected in his studies. I am sure that his reading level is way below what it should be. Also his knowledge of hand signs was sabotaged. From what I can gather, Naruto was either taught wrong on purpose or was excluded from classes when he would need to be in attendance. This would have put him on the fast track to failure. I am sure that he would have found a way to try to succeed but it would have required him to sneak into some of the remedial courses and learn from scratch. And near graduation he would be stuck with failing the requirements. Those being, create three clones, a standard substitution, and transformation jutsu." Kikiyo said as her anger started to flow over as killing intent.

"I am sure that Naruto would be able to do the substitution. The transformation would be a push for him. But with his chakra capacity and control he would never be able to create a single clone." Kikiyo looked sadly at Naruto. "Sorry Naruto, I call them like I see them. It is more the Kyuubi's fault than your own that you have such control problems. But I think I have a jutsu that could replace it for you and I am sure that you would be great at it." This caused Naruto to smile. "It is called the 'Shadow Clone Jutsu'. It is considered a forbidden jutsu but with your chakra and my belief that you will not have the control needed for at least about ten years to do a simple clone. While they would be helpful, if you cannot do them why use them? We will talk later about you using this jutsu, Naruto."

Naruto looked sad at not being able to do a simple jutsu. Hinata saw him looking dejected and hugged him. Naruto returned the hug, and nodded at Kikiyo.

"Okay, now that I have a report on what happened and will receive a written one later you can explore the village and find homes for our new citizens. Ichiro, I will inform the council that they are from Konoha but the cover story is that they are a wandering nin clan that you made a deal with along the way back. So find them homes around town that they will be comfortable in. I am sure your team can handle that." Takashi said to Ichiro.

"Naruto, Hinata, Kikiyo, I would like all of you to go with Ichiro and meet with the local Hyuuga and tell them your story. I am friends with their leader, I am sure he will keep your secrets, all of them. I would suggest that you take other names for now so that if a Konoha nin enters the village and recognizes you, you will be able to say that you are not who they think you are. Naruto you are now Naru, at least for the time being. Hinata you are now Hina for the time being. You will refer to each other and yourselves as such. This is for your own protection. Enjoy your family reunion." Takashi said with a wave of his hand as he went back to doing paperwork.

The group left the building now referring to each other by the new names. The others were told of what they were going to do. The families dispersed with the others from the team leaving Ichiro, Kikiyo, Hinata and Naruto to head to the Hyuuga complex. They arrived and were warmly greeted by the guards as there appeared to be a meeting of the family tonight. All of the group were admitted by the group and seated in council chambers for open council. The open council meeting took about thirty minutes and there appeared to be over a hundred Hyuuga in attendance, there were also people from other clans and ordinary citizens in attendance for the meeting.

Hinata sat close to Naruto not letting go of his hand at any time. Naruto would smile and squeeze her hand to reassure her that he was still there and not going anywhere. Things at the meeting were boring as the children waited patiently for it to conclude. This was unusual for Naruto other then he was able to converse with Hinata in their minds so that they were able to pass the time more quickly. This was a comfort to Hinata who was worried that news of her running would get back to the clan in Konoha. Naruto would reassure her that it wouldn't happen and if it did he would protect her.

The meeting concluded and the four met with the elders of the Hyuuga in a private council session. "Now young lady we wish to hear your story. You are not in trouble. Please tell us what brings you to our village." A kindly elderly woman asked Hinata.

Hinata squeezed Naruto's hand tightly and was sweating. Naruto looked at Ichiro who nodded. 'Go ahead Hinata-chan. If my uncle trusts them then we should too. He did save us.' Naruto said in his mind to Hinata.

Hinata appeared to recover her resolve and nodded but nearly in tears. Hinata bowed in kneeling position. "I am Hinata Hyuuga of the main Konoha branch." Hinata said with all the courage she could muster. This brought a gasp from one of the council members but nods from the others.

"Continue my child, we wish to know the reason for your visit. Whether it be a long or a short stay. That is of course up to you." The same elderly woman said kindly.

"Thank you elder. For the last two years my father has changed from the kind loving father to a tyrant. He has pushed me beyond the limits of what I could do…" Hinata started to cry as Naruto pulled her into his shoulder comforting her.

"We have time child. You may continue when you are ready. Also we have heard of this change in Hiashi-sama, and are disturbed by it." The woman smiled kindly at Hinata.

It took Hinata another five minutes to compose herself. "I am sorry for my outburst honored elders." Hinata said with a bow.

"Think nothing of it child. You are nearly seven so we expect you to still be a child. You so far have shown exceptional manners for one so young. We are honored that you humor us old folks like this. I am Hana Hyuuga. I am honored to meet the heir of the Hyuuga and your friend. I can tell he is an Uzumaki but I am not familiar with him. He must be a good friend to have come with you and help you out this way." Hana said kindly.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki, son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze. I am honored to meet all of you elders." Naruto said with a bow.

The council bowed in return to Naruto. "We are honored to be in the presence of the grandchild of the leader and the fourth Hokage of Konoha. I am sure your stories will prove to be enlightening." Hana said as she smiled kindly at the children. "Please continue child, we would like to hear your story."

Hinata bowed and continued. "My father pushed me continuously and was never satisfied. It got worse when my mother died in childbirth with my sister Hanabi. He finally before the festival told Kurenai-sensei that 'I was not worthy heir' and would be attending the Academy as a student. I met my friend Naruto-kun on the way to school. We have been attending the academy together for the last year and a quarter or so. Naruto was having problems but Kurenai-sensei was going to help Naruto-kun with his studies…" Hinata looked very sad and nearly in tears. "They were not teaching Naruto at all."

"This is quite disturbing. Ichiro, is this true that they would refuse learning to the child of their greatest leader?' Hana asked looking very annoyed.

Ichiro nodded. "Yes Hana-sama, it is true. Naruto is the vessel of the Kyuubi, sealed in him by his father no less." This statement elicited gasps from the council. Naruto squeeze Hinata's hand, and shrunk down some as he feared what the others would do to him.

Hana saw the boy's reaction and smiled warmly at him. "Worry not Naruto-kun, you are among friends. We will not hurt you for that which you had no control over. Did the villagers make your life hard?" Hana asked kindly.

All Naruto could do was nod his head.

"I see. So how did we get the privilege of having these two fine children come to our village Ichiro?" Hana asked looking at Ichiro.

"They were being attacked by several shinobi…" Ichiro looked very angry as he said the word 'shinobi'. "They were attacking the children. There was fight over who would get to them. There were five Hyuuga, an Uchiha, and a Lightning nin all fighting with each other to take the children. The Konoha nin wanted to kill them the Lightning nin wanted to take them to Kumo. The Kumo nin was the one who injured both Naruto and Hinata." Ichiro said angrily.

"I see. How badly were you hurt children?" Hana asked.

Naruto pulled up his shirt revealing a light spot on his stomach where he was stabbed. Hinata opened her shirt enough to reveal part of her scar. Naruto was surprised to see the scar and appeared to be visibly hurt by it. 'Naruto. This scar reminds me that you saved me. As with you, I will always cherish it.' Hinata told Naruto in her mind. Naruto in tears nodded to her.

"Are they able to communicate without words Ichiro?" Hana questioned.

"They appear to have a psychic link. Naruto was able to heal Hinata with the Kyuubi's help. He used the Kyuubi's chakra to heal the wound that Hinata received. Without the Kyuubi they would both be dead." Ichiro said with a proud smile on his face. His look turned serious. "There is also a matter of this that we came here for." Ichiro handed two scrolls to Hana.

Hana read the scrolls carefully, nodded then handed them on to the next elder. After the last elder finished reading the scrolls and thus handed them back to Ichiro.

"I, Kido Hyuuga am dismayed by the Uchiha's underhandedness. I for one approve of Hinata's betrothal to Naruto. That is if the children approve of it. I would not like to force them into something they do now want. As I can tell they do seem to appreciate each other. This to me is a good sign. As it is your choice children what do you want?" Kido asked smiling.

Both gulped and took a breath. They looked at each other and nodded. "We agree with the betrothal." Naruto said smiled as both he and Hinata both blushed.

"Well, I am satisfied. Any objections?" Kido asked the assembled clan elders. No one said anything.

"Well then children, you are now betrothed, congratulations. The document for the second betrothal is null and void. We will also draw up new documents so that your true identities will be hidden as we do need to report these things to the head clan in Konoha. Hinata you are now Hina Hyuuga and are my granddaughter. I am sure that Takashi has already thought of your name Naruto. No wait let me guess. Naru? Am I right?" Hana asked smiling as Naruto nodded. "From this day forth Naru Uzumaki and Hina Hyuuga are betrothed. Let only they break this bond."

Both the children immediately embraced in a hug and smiled as tears ran down their faces.

"Now was that that hard?" Hana asked with a smile. "We will deal with Hiashi later. Now we will need to see your skills child. We need to figure out where you need training. You of course will need to go to the academy. You both can visit there tomorrow. Also you will both be given a guard or two for your protection at least for now. Iwa will not be happy if they find out your identity Naruto-kun. We are sorry that you were not treated well in Konoha. I am thinking that the Uchiha are behind most of both of your problems, but I cannot be sure." Hana smiled but looked a little annoyed as she spoke.

"Naruto-kun as you are the container of the Kyuubi, I am sure that your chakra control is terrible." Kido said with a blank face. Naruto looked sad but nodded. "Cheer up boy. You are now a member of the family and thus are able to receive chakra control training. Your problem is that you have too much chakra for you to process and control. We will show you ways to get that under control. You may never have precision control that some of the elite have." Kido said but had a sly smile on his face.

"But who cares, you will have such a reserve that you will nearly never run out of it. I will personally train you in chakra control as you are to be my grandson-in-law." Kido said with a wink. "If that is alright with the Uzumaki and your friend whom I believe is an Uchiha and wants to take over your personal training."

This caught Kikiyo, Naruto and Hinata all by surprise. Ichiro just smiled as he knew how perceptive Kido was. Ichiro bowed, "I as the representative of the Uzumaki have no problem with you training my nephew. Kikiyo Uchiwa asked to be their personal trainer that is true." Ichiro replied with a smile.

"Uchiwa? I am not familiar with a clan by that name." Kido said as it suddenly dawned on him. "Ah, I see. They split from the corrupted clan to start anew?"

Kikiyo nodded. "We are the Uchiwa clan and take what was good from the Uchiha and leave the bad behind. I am the only ninja from our clan and we are new to this village. We hope to be able to fit in with all of the other people here. I am happy to have Naruto-kun train under you. He does need a lot of work on chakra control. It is a tall order and was not sure where to begin with him so that he could succeed. I welcome all the help we can get. Naruto-kun was neglected by the academy other than one teacher. Actually they ran because of the Hyuuga council. As far as we can tell they are both marked for death by them. I am sorry."

"This is most troubling. We went to Konoha to try to rebuild the feeling of alliance we had during the Great War. Now we find that they try to kill the heirs of two of the great families. I am sure that the Hyuuga council would allow the betrothal to this Sasuke Uchiha, whoever he is. I am sure they would limit his power though." Kido said with a furrowed brow. "This Fugaku-teme, is he the head of the Uchiha clan? And is this Sasuke his younger son?"

"Yes on both counts elder." Kikiyo answered with anger in her eyes.

"I see you enjoy his company greatly." Kido said with a laugh. "He must have put Hiashi under a genjutsu. This is disturbing. As of now any Uchiha, and not the Uchiwa, are to be shunned by the Hyuuga of the whirlpool. Any objections?" There were none.

"Now back to business at hand. Naruto, you are not allowed to wear a 'kill me now' orange jumpsuit. I will not have my future grandchild wearing something that calls for his early death. Do I make myself clear child?" Hana said with a warm smile on her face.

"Yes ma'am. This is all I could get when I went to the stores in Konoha. They would not sell me much of anything. They excluded me and they would chase me on my birthday." Naruto looked away but tears were heard hitting the floor as Hinata hugged his arm trying to comfort him. "They would try to kill or at least hurt me."

"Easy child, I was only commenting on your choice of colors. Not that you were being subjected to personal attacks. We have tailors that will make you anything you want. If you like orange you can have some on your outfit, but it will not be all orange. I am sorry that the village of Konoha treated you as such. You WILL NOT experience that here. And if you do come to us and your family and it will be corrected immediately." Hana said as she rose and walked over to Naruto.

Hana then kneeled and wrapped Naruto in a loving hug. Naruto froze not sure what to make of the contact. Not having really known this type of contact for most of his seven years of life. He remained ridged.

As Hana released Naruto she smiled and ruffled his hair. "I see that you have been hurt more than you are ready to tell us. That is fine child." Hana looked sadly at Hinata. "I am afraid that you have your work cut out for your child. Your husband to-be will require a lot of human touch from you and family to become whole again. I am sorry for all those that have hurt you Naruto-kun." Hana looked at Naruto as tears fell from her eyes. She hugged him again as she repeated. "I am so sorry."

Naruto broke and cried into Hana's shoulder as he squeezed Hinata's hand.

--

A/N: This seemed like a good place to end the chapter… Next chapter, Konoha's Answer…


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the characters the original story or even any of the merchandise… Oh woe is me… Well here is the next chapter… Enjoy… And an update for the readers: Naruto is 7, and Hinata is 6 as of right now in the story. And for those that say there have been too many tears. Try being a seven year old with this type of abuse, Naruto in cannon is twelve and has spent years building up his tolerance for it. Well enough talk, back to the story…

Chapter 8… Konoha's answer…

Naruto and Hinata slept at Kido and Hana's house that evening. Hana left the option for them to take either separate rooms or the same one. They chose to sleep in the same room, more because they were in a new house and need comfort and reassurance from each other. As they were betrothed and thus they were entitled to sleep in the same room. That night they had different nightmares. Hinata got to experience Naruto's seven years of life in one night while Naruto got to experience Hinata's nearly seven years. They both woke up screaming as the dreams ended with them being attacked again.

Hana and Kido came in when they heard the screaming worried that something had happened. When the children explained the dreams the adults, they said that the fox seemed to be trying to have them experience each other's lives. They both found that they enjoyed the couple days that they were together after Naruto's fourth birthday. As the children hugged each other for comfort as they both had felt the other's life including all the happiness and all the heartaches, Hinata was worse for the wear as Naruto had had a harder life than Hinata until as of late.

The elders had a discussion but were not sure why but they agreed that the fox was bringing them together for some reason. They sent a messenger to the leader letting him know about this but did not worry about it too much. They figured it was to ease Naruto's heart and make sure that he would have fewer problems in life. If the fox could make his life better than the fox would live longer or at least that was the elders' thinking.

Naruto not used to a formal breakfast came to the table and started eating as soon as he sat down. This caused Hinata to smile and giggle.

Naruto confused asked "What?" Not knowing that he was supposed to wait for the others to be ready to eat before starting.

"Naruto-kun, we wait for others to seat themselves before we start eating. For today we will forgo this formality, but tomorrow we will start this. Is that okay with you Naruto-kun?" Hana asked smiling at the apparently starved child.

Naruto nodded as he set his chopsticks down and waited for the others to seat themselves. Naruto looked sadly at Hinata who took his hand and rubbed it. "Naruto-kun it is okay, you did not know. That is why obaasan was not scolding you. She was just letting you know what was to be expected." Hinata said as she giggled.

Naruto finished his breakfast. Hana then came over and wiped something on his face. "Hey obaasan what was that for?" Naruto complained as Hinata giggled.

"Naruto-kun, that is to hide your whisker marks. We can gradually bring them to the surface over time but for now we hide them. It is for your safety." Hana said with a caring smile on her face.

"Now put this kimono on Naruto-kun, you can wear it until we buy you new clothes." Kido said holding dark blue kimono with a Hyuuga flame on the right breast. "Hinata-chan, Hana-chan will show you yours. She also will have makeup for you too."

Hinata nodded as she walked back towards the bedrooms with Hana. Naruto walked towards the bathroom but then looked back at Kido and looked down. "Can you help me with this?" Naruto asked as he held the kimono up.

Kido smiled and walked in the bathroom with Naruto. "Sure, I would love too."

Naruto got his first look at the bathroom. It contained a large mirror, a shower, a large tub, a nice sink and a toilet. It was nearly as large as his apartment in Konoha. Kido helped Naruto out of his night robe and into his new kimono. Kido smiled at the awe the child had for the guest bathroom. "I am guessing that yours was smaller."

Naruto kept his jaw open and just nodded. "This is almost as large as the apartment I had. And I mean the whole thing."

"You and Hina-chan also have tooth brushes there at the sink ready for you. We picked orange for you and a lavender one for her. Does that sound right?" Kido said as he helped Naruto into the kimono. Naruto then went to the sink and brushed his teeth.

There was a knock at the door. "May we come in? Are you decent?" Hana asked politely.

"We are fine Hime. Hinata-chan can also brush her teeth while Naruto-kun does." Kido said as Hinata and Hana entered the bathroom. Hinata was wearing a lavender kimono with blue birds and the Hyuuga flame on it. Naruto noticed Hinata and thought 'Boy Hinata-chan looks really nice.'

Hinata blushed as she brushed her teeth. 'Thank you Naruto-kun. You look very handsome.' Hinata thought in response which caused Naruto to blush.

After brushing the four left the house and traveled the streets. They at first traveled to the academy to meet with the teachers they would have for classes. All were more than happy to meet the new students. They would help fill out the class that only had fifteen students. They also found out that one of the Uchiwa was going to attend also, thus filling the class out to eighteen total students.

They then went out shopping, they were accompanied by Ichiro, Kikiyo, Kido, Hana and two Hyuuga guards. At first Naruto was weary to enter shops for fear of being attacked by the store clerks. He soon found that none would attack him, most were happy to see him enter. Hinata and Naruto stayed close to each other holding hands as they went shopping for both regular and academy clothes.

Around noon the group was standing near a shop looking at the ninja tools in the window as visitors entered the main gates of the village. Kakashi Hatake, lead a group of three other ninja to deliver the alliance scroll to the Whirlpool Village. Hayate Gekkou, Kurenai Yuuhi, and Kodai Hyuuga finished out the group. Kurenai and Kodai both had side mission to do in Uzi. Kurenai was to check up on Naruto and Hinata for the Hokage. Kodai was to meet with the local Hyuuga elders.

After they checked in and got directions they walked towards the leader's tower. Kodai suddenly without warning threw several pairs of kunai in the direction of the market. The first wave of kunai hit two children and the next waves were blocked by a red head and a dark haired woman. Kakashi immediately grabbed and disabled Kodai.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? We are delivering alliance documents and you attack civilians?" Kakashi showed his anger in his one revealed eye. "Answer now me Kodai!"

"I am sorry Kakashi-sama, I thought that I was attacking the demon and a traitor." Kodai said as he lowered his head.

"Naru-kun! Hina-chan!" Hana screamed as she leaned down to pull the kunai out of the children. Ichiro ran towards the Konoha shinobi, as Kikiyo administered some healing jutsu trying to help. Naruto's hand would not release Hinata's hand as their wounds glowed with red chakra as their wounds healed quickly.

Ichiro and several ninja from both Village and Iwa surrounded the Konoha nin. "Who attacks my son and his fiancé? Answer me now!"

Kakashi still holding Kodai said, "His name is Kodai Hyuuga. Are the children alright? We are here to deliver documents to the leader of the Whirlpool village. We surrender to you." Kakashi stood with his hands above his head as he left Kodai on the ground with his hands bound.

"You have attacked the grandchild of the leader of the Village hidden in the Whirlpool. I am the son of the leader and the child you attacked were my son and his fiancé. You will come with us now!" Ichiro said as he emitted huge amounts of killing intent. "Kikiyo, get the children to the hospital, I will take them to father so that he can figure out the punishment."

Kodai was lifted by two Iwa nin and dragged towards the leader's tower. Kakashi, Hayate, and Kurenai all walked with their hands above their heads. They reached Takashi's office and Ichiro knocked. "Enter!" A booming voice came from behind the door.

Ichiro lead the Konoha nin into the office as Kodai was thrown to the ground as the Iwa nin left. Two other Uzi nin stayed keeping an eye on Kodai.

"Okay, I give up. Why do I have four Konoha shinobi in my office, three with their hands above their heads and one tied up?" Takashi asked with a confused look on his face.

"I will let the Konoha shinobi speak for themselves." Ichiro said with as much venom in his voice as he could muster.

Kakashi smiled and lowered his hands slowly and carefully pulled a scroll out of his pouch. "Well… You see, we were going to deliver the answer of alliance scroll to you." Kakashi then turned toward Kodai, raising his killing intent and putting his hands on his hips. "Some particular shinobi who may not survive the day decided to attack civilians. Specifically the grandson of the leader and his fiancé! I personally tied him up. If you do not kill him I will make sure he spends a long time with Ibiki if he is allowed to return to Konoha."

Kakashi then kneeled down and bowed deeply. "You have my deepest apologies for this. You may do as you with Kodai as he may cause this mission to fail. I do not condone attacking civilians. Especially ones of a village that we are going to ally with." Kakashi emphasized the last sentence.

Takashi near rage, "I wish to hear from the one who attacked my grandchildren! If your answer does not please me you will suffer from the death of a thousand cuts! Also I am sure the Hyuuga will want to also deal out some punishment for attacking their child also!"

Kodai moved to kneeling position. "My humblest apologies, the children in question looked like two who have a kill on site order from the Konoha Hyuuga clan council. I did not think, I am sorry!"

"You did not think?!" Takashi said with such rage that Kodai nearly wet himself. "You attack two children without verification of who they are?! How can I take your village seriously? I will be sending a formal complaint to your village and one to Hiashi himself!" Takashi moved right up to Kodai's ear, "If either dies so do you. The heirs to both families have been injured I am sure Hiashi and Sarutobi will be happy to hear this." The sarcasm of the final sentence was not lost on Kodai as sweat beaded on his brow.

Kakashi handed the scroll over to Takashi. "Here is the scroll. I am Kakashi Hatake. Other than my disgraced member Kodai Hyuuga, I would like to present Hayate Gekkou, and Kurenai Yuuhi. Again I am very sorry for Kodai's conduct. He was on the track to becoming jonin but with this I am not sure if he will continue to even be a shinobi."

Takashi looked into Kakashi's eye. "Kakashi of the Sharingan, I trust your word, but this man will not be released until we find the status of my grandchildren."

"If I may, what are the names of the children?" Kakashi asked as the group left the tower minus Kodai who was taken down stairs for questioning.

"Naru Uzumaki, and Hina Hyuuga. Why?" Takashi replied.

"Those names sound similar to children that turned up missing from Konoha for nearly a week. Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga." Kakashi replied.

"You mean there are more Uzumaki? In Konoha? I would like to meet this Naruto, he maybe a lost relative." Takashi said with worry on his face.

The group headed to the hospital and found the room where Naruto and Hinata were sleeping soundly. Hana was crying with Kido as they kept watch over the children. Both had blood and IV drips hooked up to them. The beds were close together as Naruto had not released Hinata's hand yet.

"How are they?" Takashi asked worriedly.

"They are out of danger now. But they did lose a lot of blood. The kunai nearly hit their hearts. Who would attack children?" Kido said angrily as he saw the Konoha ninja.

"I accept responsibility for the actions of my man, Kodai Hyuuga. If you need any help for them to make it we offer all that we have." Kakashi said as he bowed deeply to Kido and Hana.

"They were going to announce the betrothal today!" Hana yelled as she cried into Kido's shoulder. "We nearly lost my precious granddaughter, and grandson." Hana looked directly at Kakashi as anger blazed in her eyes. "You say a Hyuuga did this! I want to meet this piece of slime!"

"Calm down Hana-chan. I am sure that they have an explanation for this unwarranted attack." Kido said but the anger was still evident in his voice.

Kakashi still in his bow said. "Apparently the Hyuuga clan council has a kill on sight order for two children that look like your grandchildren. My guess is that they are Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga that have the death sentence. I am not sure why, as they are just considered missing children as far as Konoha is concerned. Both bear striking resemblances to these children. Naruto would have whisker marks on his face and I am not sure how Hinata looks. Kurenai would be more of an expert on that than I."

Kurenai moved forward and recognized both of the children immediately. "Neither are the ones that are missing." Kurenai looked at both Hana and Kido, who say that she was lying in her eyes. Kurenai then looked at Takashi. "I also need to talk to you Leader-sama about shared curriculum if that is okay with you."

"Kurenai we will get a room for as long as we need to clear up this incident. I will inform one of your chunin where we are staying when we get a room. Is that acceptable Leader-sama?" Kakashi asked still in a bow.

"Yes that is fine. Kurenai-san, I will meet with you in a few minutes after I have finished here with the children. Meet me in my office in about thirty minutes." Takashi said as he moved further into the room.

Kakashi, Kurenai, and Hayate left the room leaving the grandparents to talk about the children.

"They are lucky the Kyuubi healed them both." Hana said bluntly.

"Healed them both?" Takashi asked surprised.

"Yes, both. Naruto refused to let go of Hinata's hand, and still does. I watched as the Kyuubi's chakra went through both of them and healed the holes in each of their hearts. The kunai struck true. They did lose a lot of blood but both will be fine. Hinata will have another scar but Naruto will only have some discolored skin. Now Hinata has more of the Kyuubi's chakra flowing through out her system. I would almost say that the demon is spitting the seal across the two of them. I am not a seal expert, but they will be out for the rest of the day. I am not pleased with the Konoha council at all. They nearly caused a war here. And if the branch family knew that they have Hinata marked they would have a civil war for the clan on their hands." Hana said nearly shouting and in tears.

"As far as the records are concerned the parents of the children are dead other than Ichiro. So if the Hyuuga council wants to investigate they will find no leads. As you know Ichiro's wife died about eight years ago. So to keep up with the premise Naruto will become Ichiro's son. He has already claimed him as such. Hinata will remain as your granddaughter. I know that both of your youngest and her husband died around the same time. So we can claim Hinata as their child. We will inform them when they wake. Should we also let them know that the Kyuubi seems to be splitting the seal across them?" Takashi asked in a worried voice.

"We should call a seal expert but we should also talk to Sarutobi about this too so that he will not be surprised when he learns this. Also we should include what we have found out so far from the children." Kido said holding Hana. "We ask Sarutobi if we should involve Jiraiya. He should be able to figure this out if anybody can."

Naruto sat up and opened his eyes. They were red with slits. "**Humans please worry not for the kits. I am going to protect them as best I can.**"


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

Enjoy this chapter... Also I did find that I made a mistake read my notes at the end... thanks...

Chapter 9… The fight for the kids…

Naruto sat up and opened his eyes. They were red with slits. "**Humans please worry not for the kits. I am going to protect them as best I can.**"

All three adults looked at Naruto in awe. It took a minute for anyone to speak. "You… you are the Kyuubi?"

Naruto nodded. "**The kits sleep restfully now. I have them playing the game of working on their hand signs. They are currently in no danger. I am sorry if I startle you.**"

"Why are you speaking through my grandson?" Takashi asked worried that Naruto was possessed.

"**This is the quickest way to talk to you and help both the kits and myself. To answer your question, yes I am splitting the seal. This is so that they will both be able to survive a life as a shinobi. To lose the female would break the heart of the kit. And for the kittling to lose Naruto, would destroy her also. As I am part of her, what happens to her affects me too. So with dividing the seal I can help both at the same time. Also the strain on both will be lessened. The kittling will spend a few more days in the hospital as her coils adjust to the increased amount of chakra. In turn the kit will be able to achieve better chakra control.**" Naruto said with confidence.

"Why are you doing this?" Hana asked with worry in her eyes.

"**Both have had hard lives for those so young, even in human years. While I was a summoned demon, I do not like needless suffering. I would have preferred to return to my realm but a certain someone made it so that I could not.**" Naruto smiled kindly. "**And no I am not talking about the Fourth Hokage, I am speaking about Madara Uchiha.**"

"Why do you want to get even with Madara Uchiha?" Kido asked.

"**Madara Uchiha is the reason that Naruto is the way he is now. He is also the cause of the death of both of his parents. He also stole me from my family in the summons realm. Should I need anymore of reason?**" Naruto raised a hand to forestall any more questions. "**I have limited time here and this will help both of them greatly. I am working to bring these two together because I was told by the Shinigami that he will help me if I do this. They are also destined to be together. I lost half my soul to him. Now I will help the boy reach his destiny. There are others like the kit out there. There are nine of us Demon Lords in all. I am the most powerful. I can feel a couple of them. One is in Suna, another is in Kumo. They are the one tail and the two tails respectively. You can either invite them here or you can wait for them to come into contact with the kits.**"

"**You are their kin. I am in them. I know their thoughts and feelings. One is afraid to fail the other is afraid to be hurt. They are not ready for me to contact them yet. They must be older for their minds to be able to understand and also be able to deal with me. I am not the most pleasant being to talk too. I must go now. The kit can only handle so much strain on his system. You may tell them now or wait to tell them about this. It is your choice. But I will **

**require they go after Madara, I do advise you find the others and get their help.**" Naruto closed his eyes and lay back on the bed as his vitals started to rise.

"So how do we deal with this?" Kido asked with a concerned look.

"Well, I would say that we talk with Kikiyo and the Hokage before we bring in the Toad Sannin. I still need to talk to this Kurenai person. Naruto and Hinata both appear to trust her. I must be off, please keep an eye on our grandchildren." Takashi said as he left.

Takashi and Ichiro entered his office and saw both Kurenai and Kakashi in his office. "Greetings, you are Kakashi and Kurenai? What is it that can I do for the both of you?"

"Yes Sousui-sama, I am Kakashi Hatake and she is Kurenai Yuuhi." Kakashi answered.

"I know I have a meeting with Kurenai, I was not aware that you were coming, no matter. What can I do for the both of you?" Takashi was blunt.

"I would like to know why you have Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga." Kakashi said to Takashi. He then looked at Kurenai. "She did not hide her reaction well enough to hide it from me. What is going on here?"

"Why do you think we have these two people you mention?" Takashi asked coyly.

"I am a jonin of the leaf and do not fool easily. I know that there were some problem for them in Konoha but that is not a reason to kidnap them." Kakashi said accusatorily.

"Kidnap?! Kidnap?! You saw what happened to my grandson?! He was attacked when he did not do anything else! What good are your protections when you DO NOT PROTECT HIM?!" Takashi yelled in a rage.

"He was protected in Konoha, as she also was. She is also betrothed to Sasuke Uchiha." Kakashi said in a level voice as the door behind him closed.

"Actually she was not." Kikiyo said dryly.

"I have seen the document myself. Fugaku paraded it around the jonin." Kakashi said annoyed.

"An agreement garnered through deception is not valid." Kikiyo said as her anger started to come to the surface.

"What deception. I asked Hiashi about it and he did not deny it." Kakashi said annoyed. "Who are you anyways?"

"I am Kikiyo Uchiwa, former Uchiha jonin." Kikiyo said flatly.

"I remember you, yeah one of the few Uchiha that support the Hokage. But what do you mean about 'an agreement garnered through deception'?"

"Fugaku put a genjutsu on Hiashi. When you looked at the document did you see Hanna's signature on it anywhere?" Kikiyo asked Kakashi looking him right in the eye.

Kakashi looked up and took a thinking pose. "Well… now that you mention it, no I didn't."

Takashi hands Kakashi two scrolls. Kakashi reads both scrolls and hands them back. "I see. You are protecting both of them. I see where the council would prefer the Uchiha/Hyuuga mix and then force their control upon that branch. So why take the children?"

"Actually we did not take them in the sense you mean. They were attacked outside of Konoha. They were running from several attackers. An Uchiha, five Hyuuga and a Kumo nin. We rescued them, and with the permission of the Hokage we brought them here. They are starting a happier new life where they are appreciated, that was until your jealous and biased man attacked them." Ichiro answered as his mood changed to anger. "Your man attacked them and nearly killed them. I know your S-ranked secrets dealing with my nephew. He is also of our clan and will be protected."

"So you know about the Kyuubi?" Kakashi asked quietly.

"More than you can believe." Takashi said as he sat tiredly into his chair. "The people of your village treat him as the demon incarnate. He is a child and has been through more than most jonin. Do you have any idea how many attempts there have been on his life?"

"Eighty-five, that is not including the one today." Kakashi said matter of fact.

"Damn it, the boy is only seven years old and has had that many attacks on his life?" Ichiro asked angrily.

"It would have been better to have his paternity put out on display." Takashi said with his head in his hands. "At least he would have been better guarded."

"What do you mean? He is just some orphan that the fourth used to seal the demon in." Kakashi asked as if he didn't care.

"Would you say that the Fourth was so callous that he would use an orphan to seal a demon in?" Takashi asked slowly.

"My sensei would not be callous but would do what he had to do." Kakashi responded in anger.

"Then you do not know." Ichiro said more stating than asking.

"Know what?" Both Kakashi and Kurenai asked at the same time.

"Naruto is his child, the son of the Fourth Hokage and my daughter Kushina Uzumaki." Takashi said as tears hit the floor.

"What? There is no way! I would have known." Kakashi protested.

"It is true, Sarutobi verified it for me. Also he told me that Hiashi wanted to give his old friend's son a birthday present along with his daughter when he delivered the first betrothal documents. It was 

too be a present for the both of them. Hiashi was tired of the village attacking and trying to kill Naruto. The Uchiha had a standing order to either hurt or kill the child whenever possible. Kill was the last option as the council was worried that the Kyuubi might escape." Kikiyo said without emotion.

"The Uchiha blocked any and all attempts to let Naruto be adopted. The woman who ran the orphanage was an Uchiha by marriage and her husband and child died fighting the Kyuubi. You tell me that there was no organization that was against Naruto when he has been attacked more than eighty times since he was two years old. They left him alone for his first two years hoping beyond hope that he would die from either starvation or food poisoning." Kikiyo looked again at Kakashi. "Tell me how many times did you save him? He is the son of your sensei."

Kakashi backed up against the wall. "Well… never. I didn't get the opportunity to try to protect him. I also did not even know who he was." Kakashi replied defensively.

"I thought you were a genius. How many people in Konoha are blond? Other than the Yaminaka… Who had enemies on the council? Why would Sarutobi go out of his way to protect a child? Why would a child have so many attempts on his life? Why would he be referred to as the Yondame's legacy? You the great, lazy I might add genius of Konoha that used the Uchiha's trick to your own advantage." Kikiyo ended her verbal barrage.

"I don't know but he is a citizen of Konoha and should be returned." Kakashi stated.

"Returned? Returned to what? A place that calls for his death. A place that offers to train him then sabotages said training?" Ichiro asked pointedly.

"What do you mean by sabotage?" Kakashi looked at Kurenai who nodded.

"He was not being taught correctly, most of the teachers would send him out of class during important lessons. I am not even sure he can read properly." Kurenai commented as she looked at Kikiyo who just shook her head. "This is just as I had feared. He was attacked by Mizuki, and then others as he ran home. He must have met up with Hinata and they were attacked and then fled the village. I saw the results of the attack. It was gruesome."

Ichiro handed Kakashi copies of the photos. "As you can see they were nearly dead. We thought we were going to have to tag them and bring them back to Konoha in body bags. Luckily Naruto saved them both. We offered them a safe place to grow up and we will do just that."

"I am not sure about Naruto but Hinata will have to come back. Even if it means she will have to marry the Uchiha boy. Also her father would like to know she is alive." Kakashi said looking at the ground.

"Kakashi, Naruto was not the only target if you listened to your man. Hinata is one too. She will either die or have the curse seal put upon her upon her return. She will more than likely die along with Naruto if you take her." Takashi said leaning over his desk.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked confused.

"Naruto will die of a broken heart thus Hinata will die because their lives are linked. Fate, the Shinigami, and the Kyuubi have all placed their card on these two. You take her and you will have a war with Iwa and the whirlpool. I am also sure that you will be severely punished by your Hokage. As he has authenticated and pushed that the first betrothal is valid and the second is invalid. He also gave personal permission for us to have the children." Ichiro stated his points. "So what are you going to do Kakashi? Everything I have told you is either an 'S' or 'SS' ranked secret of both the Leaf and Whirlpool."

"What proof do you have that the Hokage gave permission?" Kakashi asked.

"My testimony." Kikiyo answered.

"Mine." Ichiro chimed in.

"Also you have mine, if theirs is not good enough for you." Kurenai replied to Kakashi's question.

"Is Iwa okay with you having the son of the Fourth Hokage running around in Uzu?" Kakashi asked in a worried tone.

"Iwa has a treaty that states that if a shinobi from Iwa attacks and kills a citizen of Uzu they are guilty of attempted murder. Also having Naruto here protects him so as not to be a tool or bargaining chip between Iwa or Konoha." Takashi stated in an angry voice.

"Are you not afraid that the Konoha council will demand Naruto back? Or at the very least Hinata?" Kakashi continued his questions.

"Only if they are told that they are definitely here. I trust Kurenai-san not to tell but I am not so sure about you, Kakashi Hatake. Naruto is my grandson. My grandson! And his future wife is Hinata. Both were mistreated and the root cause was the Uchiha! Who hold great sway with your council. Do you think for one moment I would allow my kin and future kin to be abused if I can prevent it?" Takashi said as he rose from his chair from behind his desk.

"I don't see how you have a choice." Kakashi replied nonchalantly.

Grabbing the treaty scroll, "Oh I have all I need right here. Open emigration from either village to the other is one of the stipulations in the treaty. Reconnection with families. Also it covers binding laws. The betrothal document that Hiashi and Fugaku signed was a fraud, it did not have Hanna Hyuuga's signature on it. Without it, it was not valid and has no legal standing. Also Naruto's claim has precedence if you want another argument. A birthday present no less, as you can see from the document. Since laws on betrothal are set, there should not be any argument. Naruto will live here. Hinata is his betrothed, and he is hers will also be staying. Thus they can live together until they are fully wed. Now do you have a problem with leaving her here?" Takashi stated waving the scroll in Kakashi's face.

"Well when you put it that way. I don't see any problems with your reasoning. I really have only liked one Uchiha anyways, and anything that will annoy the Uchiha makes me happy as they did not honor Obito very well." Kakashi added with a chuckle.

--

A/N: I have been corrected and am going to go back and fix all the chapters 4 through 8 with the correct name for Whirlpool – Uzu. Thanks for the find and I will fix the stories soon. Simple mistake… I will endeavor to correct it.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Hope you enjoy this chapter. I hope this keeps the critics happier as I basically doubled the size of this chapter compared to the others, you know who you are. smiles More on this later. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 10… More family??

Naruto and Hinata were playing the hand sign game in a field all alone on a blanket. Hinata seemed to be slower than she usually was and winced in pain occasionally. "Why don't we take a break and rest Hinata-chan?" Naruto suggested as he wanted to help ease whatever pain Hinata was feeling.

"Sure Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a smile as she moved to his side. They laid down on the blanket Naruto putting his arm behind his head as Hinata laid her head on his chest. Naruto noticed her breathing became rhythmic fairly quickly. He lifted his head and looked down to see her sleeping. He smiled as she slept only occasionally seeing her wince in pain. Satisfied he fell asleep himself not noticing the house with a dark cloud over it in the background.

Hana and Kido watched as Naruto with his eyes closed got up from his bed and walked over to Hinata's and laid down next to her. Not wanting Naruto to get cold Hana pulled the sheets from his bed and covered him up. Kido had made sure that the IV's did not get tangled or pulled when Naruto got up and moved.

The children laid in the bed for a week as Hinata's apparent pain eased. They both woke up at the same time only to look into each other's eyes, they blushed and smiled at each other.

"The children are awake!" Hana yelled and ran over as she embraced the children.

Naruto and Hinata both smiled as they returned the hug. "Good to see you back. You have been gone a week. How are you feeling?" Kido asked with a smile.

"Hinata-chan and I got to play the hand sign game, We worked on chakra control and got to play lots of other games." Naruto said enthusiastically while Hinata nodded agreement. "But Hinata-chan's chakra control seemed a little off. She did not have as much control as she normally does."

"Well Naruto-kun, I was in pain for most of the time we played in the field." Hinata replied in defense.

"Should we tell them?" Hana asked looking sadly at Kido.

"Not just yet. Let them get settled in school then we can tell them. We do need to inform Kikiyo about this though." Kido answered. He turned towards the children. "So do you think you will be up for your first day in class tomorrow?"

Naruto and Hinata both nodded their heads.

"Good, then it is settled. We will finish getting your equipment when you are released and you will attend the academy tomorrow." Kido said with a smile.

Both Hinata and Naruto were released with orders to return after class the next day for a follow up visit.

"Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan, we will need to have your names changed for the time being so that others from Konoha do not recognize you. Kikiyo will also be working with you on a henge for both of you to use so that you will not be recognized. You can drop this henge at the academy and at home, but around town you will be required to have it up. This is so that what happened last week does not happen again. We will be creative if you like. Your grandmother and I will also help where we can." Kido said as they walked to the weapons shop they were going to enter when they were attacked last week.

In the leader's tower Takashi was milling over what had gone on last week and decided to hold Kurenai and Kakashi to their word.

(Flashback)….

"Well when you put it that way. I don't see any problems with your reasoning. I really have only liked one Uchiha anyways, and anything that will annoy the Uchiha makes me happy as they did not honor Obito very well." Kakashi added with a chuckle.

"So I have your word that you will not reveal the existence of the children to anyone other than the Hokage?" Takashi asked with a furrowed brow.

"Well sure, to protect my sensei's son I will do anything. If there are people who would hurt him in Konoha then I feel he would be safer here. And as for Hinata Hyuuga if she is he betrothed then I will not fight it, but I do suggest that you bring this matter up to Hiashi at the earliest time you can. If you treat them right I will say nothing to the Konoha Hyuuga." Kakashi said with a smirk that showed through his mask. "They did look happy before Kodai attacked. Oh and I would also like to let you know that Jiraiya is Naruto's godfather. If that is any help."

"Thank you Kakashi, we will also set preparation for Naruto and Hinata to be disguised while they are around town and when they go on missions after they graduate." Takashi said with a broad smile. He turned to Kurenai. "I know you had a mission from the Hokage, so what was it?"

Kurenai bowed. "Takashi Uzumaki, leader of the Whirlpool village. I bring greeting and thanks from the Sarutobi the Hokage of Konoha. Naruto is believed dead by most of the village, and several have been taken into custody that have injured him. Hinata Hyuuga is considered missing but presumed dead by all but the clan council and Hiashi, who still holds out that she maybe still alive. The Uchiha have voided the betrothal with Hinata on the grounds she is believed dead. They are now trying to get Hanabi Hyuuga to be Sasuke's new bride-to-be. This is not going well as no Uchiha is now allowed onto Hyuuga property." Kurenai said with a smirk.

"The Hokage has called off the searches for the children, as the search groups did not find any more trace of them after the encounter with the Kumo ninja. I was sent to find out how they were settling in. I was worried about them." Kurenai said with a smile.

"Well… they were doing fine until today. They are settling in with Hinata's relatives here, they are acting grandparents for the both of them." Kikiyo answered with a smile. "Naruto appears to have been truly neglected by his instructors, he can barely read, and has had to relearn hand signs. His chakra control is abysmal, but that is not surprising as the Kyuubi gives him enough chakra for him to be at mid chunin level, and it will only increase."

"Did you say he could not read and his hand signs were wrong?" Kurenai asked with concern.

"Yes I did. Naruto was told the wrong way in making signs. Hinata was more than happy to help me with fixing this. We have had them playing the hand sign game to help him with it. Naruto and Hinata both need the attention that they are receiving from each other. While Naruto is the more confident of the two, he hides that he is actually the more insecure of the two of them. Naruto knows himself but is not sure how to deal with others. So he will use his confidence in his own abilities, whether real or imagined, to his advantage." Kikiyo said with a weary smile.

"I see. I wish I was able to help him sooner. How is Hinata doing? Her father was not kind too her before she left. I know it was the genjutsu that Fugaku put on him, but I am so surprised that he could be so cold to her." Kurenai asked with a bowed head and frown.

"Hinata is doing better. Hana and Kido have agreed to help her with her training in the gentle fist style. We also have agreed that they will receive some new names for their protection. Also they will be under a mild henge while they wander the village for their safety as there will be more visitors from Konoha. We do not want to have a repeat of today." Kikiyo said with anger in her voice. Kikiyo perked up and looked at Takashi. "I have two things to report regarding the Uchiwa. First we are changing the family name to Fenikkusu, or phoenix. This is to keep us from someone figuring out that we were Uchiha. Second we found Minato's sister and niece."

"What? She was said to have died years ago, and she has a daughter?" Kakashi asked in surprise.

"Yes we found her while I examined all our families for traitors. I found that one of the women had a genjutsu and a seal placed on her. She is Minato's younger sister and was stolen and told she was an Uchiha. I was able to break the seal and her memories came back to her. She does not want to return to Konoha ever. She also wanted her daughter to join the academy as she is only a little older than Naruto. I am also thinking as the Namikaze are an offshoot of the Senju her daughter may have the bloodline limit of the First or the Second Hokage." Kikiyo said a sad look on her face.

"The Uchiha seem to have wanted to take power in Konoha in quite a few ways. As Naruto, Haku, Keiko, and Tsunade are all related to the first and the second Hokage. Haku and Shippo want to take the Senju name whether they have the bloodline or not. They would also like to meet with Naruto as soon as they get a chance. Keiko will be in school tomorrow using the Senju name. They are mad at the Uchiha for just reasons. They harbor no ill will towards the Fenikkusu clan and want to associate with us, for which we are very thankful." Kikiyo said with pride.

"That is fine with me, whether the reformed Senju have a bloodline or not does not matter. I am just glad that they have found out about this deception. Please Kurenai and Kakashi please inform the Hokage of this information but do not let it slip to the council. I will be sending you a list of clans for the Konoha council to see. Kikiyo your clan will now be listed as Fenikkusu. Let them try to figure it out. I like it better than Uchiwa anyways. You may also inform him but not the council about the status of Naruto, Hinata, Haku, Keiko and Shippo. As the Senju is only one family right now they will not be listed on the documents as a clan yet. They are now associated to both the Uzumaki and the Fenikkusu by situation and blood. They will also soon be related to the Hyuuga." Takashi said with a smile.

Takashi's mood turned dark. "Now to deal with your errant chunin. He attacked a member of the Uzumaki clan and a member of the Hyuuga clan. While both will make a full recovery, they nearly died. His initial impression of the children was correct but he is not to know that. I am I clear?" All present nodded understanding. "Furthermore, you will inform the council that his action nearly caused the invalidation of the treaty and a war with Iwa and Whirlpool upon the Leaf. I want Ibiki to erase his mind of the descriptions of the children to vague impression of their looks. Naruto will be just a simple blond child and Hinata will be a young Hyuuga girl. I will supply photos for you before you leave. They of course will not look exactly like either of them, but that is to be expected. I think we are done here."

(End flashback)…

A knock at the door brought Takashi out of his thoughts. "Come in!"

Naruto, Hinata, Kido and Hana entered Takashi's office. "Welcome family." Takashi stated with a huge smile. "I am happy to see you up and about. Have they had a chance to hear about the names we came up with?"

Kido nodded. "We discussed it during lunch and we also have a few twists that you might find entertaining."

"Please sit and tell me it all." Takashi said as he pointed to some chairs in front of his desk.

"Well Naruto liked Akemi as it would explain his blond hair. We convinced Hinata to take the name of Takara as we think she is a treasure." Hana said which caused Hinata to blush three shades of red.

"Okay Akemi you are now he lost son of Ichiro Uzumaki and his first wife, Nori." Takashi said as Naruto nodded. "Takara you are the grandchild of Hana and Kido, your parents recently died and you do not want to talk about it." Hinata nodded.

"We also thought it would be fun for them to change genders with a henge while about the village. Naruto thought it would be fun to take on the form of Kushina if you are not against it. At least what she looked like when she was his age." Kido said with a smirk.

"Well that will throw people I am sure. You are going to work with Kikiyo on learning the henge? Also you may resume your names when you are at home or when all this trouble with Konoha settles down." Takashi said as he rubbed his head as if to rid himself of a headache. "Well do not let me keep you from going to the academy and meeting your new classmates."

The four bowed and left Takashi's office. They walked to the academy and were greeted by the head teacher Toshiro Shinrin. He took them to a class where they found a group of seven or nearly seven year old children in a lesson.

"Welcome, I am Nori Mizu the instructor for this class. Are these the new students we talked about Hana?" Nori asked as she looked Naruto and Hinata. "Would you like to introduce yourselves to the class?"

Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and walked into the class cleared his throat bowed and said in a clear voice. "I am Akemi Uzumaki, I am pleased to meet you all. Please treat me well." Naruto became nervous as the girls in class started to eye him, but not with hatred. He immediately grabbed Hinata's hand and squeezed, she squeezed his hand to reassure him that she would be there.

Hinata blushed slightly then turned to the class and said quietly. "I am Takara Hyuuga, I am also pleased to meet all of you. Please treat me well." She then bowed.

"Thank you Akemi and Takara for coming in today. We look forward to both of you attending tomorrow. Tomorrow I would like you to sit next to our other new student, Keiko Senju. Keiko dear, can you please stand?" Nori asked the class. A girl in the back with long brown hair and brown eyes stood and bowed, she then sat down again.

"Class, Akemi is Ichrio's son. And Takara is Hana and Kido's granddaughter. So please treat them kindly." Nori asked the class.

"Hai." The class responded.

"Thank you both for coming in today. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow for class. Please come prepared for class." Nori said kindly as she returned to the lesson.

The four left the class room and headed home. They found Kikiyo waiting for them. "Hi kids. How was your trip to the academy?" Kikiyo asked.

"Fine I guess. We met our class. The girls were kind of frightening though." Naruto said as they entered the house. They all left their sandals at the entrance and continued into the greeting room.

"Well I have some news for you Naruto." Kikiyo said with a smile.

"What is it?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Well we found another relative for you to meet. She should be here in a little while. She will be training with the two of you as she was not allowed to go to the academy in Konoha." Kikiyo said as Naruto had a shocked look on his face. "Ichiro will be bringing her and your aunt and uncle here also after she is done with today's lessons at the academy. But for today we are not going to work too hard. We are going to work on the henge or transformation jutsu. It is considered a genjutsu of the lowest order. It will change your appearance, but only so that you look different. If you change into a person who is taller than yourself I would be able to pass my hand through you where your body and the henge do not meet up. Okay let's go to the dojo and work on this jutsu until they arrive."

Kikiyo took Naruto and Hinata to the dojo and they spent the next two hours working on the jutsu. Neither Naruto nor Hinata seemed to be able to get the jutsu at all. Hana announced that visitors had arrived. Naruto and Hinata wiped the sweat from their faces and headed back to the greeting room.

They were met by Ichiro, a new man with light red hair, a woman with dark brown hair, and the girl from the academy, Keiko. "I would like you to meet the Senju family, Shippo, Haku and Keiko." Ichiro said as the family bowed. "Naruto these are your uncle, aunt and cousin. And yes I know you told the students at the academy your name was Akemi, son." Ichiro winked at the last statement.

"How is this boy my nephew, Kikiyo?" Haku asked looking perplexed.

"Naruto is Minato's son and nephew of Ichiro. If you remember Minato was your brother. He is also the son of Kushina Uzumaki and grandson of Takashi. Does this help you any?" Kikiyo asked as she hoped that it would clear things up.

"Wait this is confusing." Keiko said as she shook her head. "He said he was Ichiro's son and his name was Akemi. Now you are telling me that his name is Naruto and he is the son of Minato, whoever he is."

"Minato Namikaze WAS the Fourth Hokage of Konoha no Sato. He was also Naruto's father. The reason we have changed a few things around is because Minato, Naruto and Hinata all have enemies. It is for their protection. You must not tell anyone their true identities. Do you understand me Keiko?" Kikiyo asked sternly as Keiko nodded. "Well let's head to the dojo and work on your training. Every day we will have a training session after the academy until we have you back up to where we need you to be."

Everyone headed to the dojo. The adults except for Ichiro and Kikiyo sat on the chairs on the side of the dojo. "Okay Keiko, what do you know about chakra and can you mold it?" Kikiyo asked Keiko.

Keiko explained the text book explanation of chakra and said she could mold it. Ichiro continued Naruto and Hinata's training in the transformation jutsu. They were using the proper amount of chakra but would not transform.

Naruto thought that if he put more chakra into the transformation it might work. He chose an image of Hinata and molded the chakra. In a puff of smoke there were two Hinata's instead of one. Kido activated his Byakugan and looked at Naruto. Naruto then hugged Hinata and jumped up and down yelling "I did it!"

After Naruto calmed down some and released the henge Hinata asked "How did you do it?"

Naruto scratched his head and then said. "I put more chakra into the jutsu and it worked."

"No, it didn't." Kido said to a shocked Naruto.

"What do you mean jiji? You saw that it worked." Naruto complained.

"I say no that it did not work because it did not work properly. A normal transformation is a genjutsu not an actual transformation. You took on nearly full shape of Hinata. It was not total as you are not familiar with the female anatomy but it was not a genjutsu. You actually changed into a physical copy of Hinata." Kido's statement shocked everyone present. "Hinata dear, please do as Naruto did."

Hinata nodded and then pushed more chakra into the jutsu and turned into an exact copy of Naruto. "I did it Naruto-kun." Hinata said as she hugged Naruto.

Hana deactivated her Byakugan. "I see what you mean. It is an exterior transformation. She like Naruto-kun only changed what they knew to change. While Hinata-chan looks and to the touch would seem like Naruto-kun she is still a girl. We can either leave this or show then the difference." Hana said with a smile. "It can wait until they are trained in that detail. Do you agree Kido-kun?"

Kido nodded with a smile, while Hinata and Naruto looked very confused. "Naruto, please change into a girl and Hinata change into a boy and not into each other."

Naruto changed into a girl his age with blond hair and pony tails. Hinata turned into a Hyuuga boy with long hair.

"Very good both of you. Naruto can you remove of the whisker marks on your face? It is cute otherwise." Kido said to the children. Naruto changed again this time he did not have the whisker marks. "Okay Naruto can you make the hair a light red but not pink. Naruto complied as again the adults were shocked.

"Kushina?" Ichiro said quietly.

"Perfect Naruto. Hinata great job." Kido said to the children. "Now both of you change into Ichiro."

The children complied and Ichiro touched both their faces only to find them solid. "You are right they are solid transformations. I am not sure if it can normally be done. They will make expert infiltration specialists with this ability." Ichiro said smiling.

"This henge does not show up as chakra as a normal henge does." Kikiyo said with her Sharingan activated. She turned back to Keiko. "You are doing great Keiko. Now that you have the chakra formed, use it and call the jutsu forward."

Keiko strained and then said. "Henge!" She changed into a perfect looking Naruto and smirked. "So cousin, how do I look?"

Naruto looked at Keiko and smiled. "Looks great Keiko-chan."

The Keiko tried the henge that Naruto and Hinata were able to do and was successful but became tired very quickly as it required more chakra and her reserves were not to the level of either Naruto or Hinata.

"Great job kids. Thanks to Naruto we have a new jutsu that is better than the usual henge. We shall refer to it as the variant and it is a forbidden jutsu for academy students, other than Naruto and Hinata that is." Ichiro said to the children.

"Why is it forbidden?"Naruto asked.

"Well first off it requires about twice the chakra of the normal henge, which will tire a student or even a new genin. So we forbid its use because we don't want students or low level genin wearing themselves out too quickly. Both you and Hinata have more chakra that others do. Do you understand why now?" Ichiro explained.

Naruto and Hinata nodded. "So do we tell Keiko our secrets?"

"She is ready for the one dealing with your betrothal." Hana turned toward Keiko. "Naruto and Hinata are betrothed. So if you could keep that under wraps for a little bit it would be appreciated." Keiko nodded and smiled. "Ichiro, Kikiyo and Kido will be helping you children on taijutsu tomorrow. So have a good evening. It was a pleasure meeting you Keiko. Also Shippo, Haku I will need to speak to you tomorrow while Keiko is training. Is that okay with you?" Both nodded with a smile.

Keiko hugged Naruto and Hinata, she then left with her parents. "Bye Akemi-kun, and Takara-chan I will see you tomorrow at the academy." Keiko said as she ran to catch her parents on their way home.

--

A/N: I more than likely will never write a ten thousand word chapter as it would be too long and tedious. I am sorry if you are used to chapters that are 5k, I try to keep them to around 2k or so but this one was nearly 4k so I hope you like the longer length. Yes the teacher and Ichiro's former wife have the same first name, not the same woman.

Jutsu:

Advanced Henge – Transformation jutsu developed by Naruto to compensate for his lack of chakra control to be able to do a proper henge. This requires about twice the chakra as the normal henge but also has a small upkeep to help hold the change. This makes it harder for academy students and genin to use this as they do not have the chakra capacity to keep this active for long. As long as you know human anatomy you will appear as what you transform into. If you do not know such as sex organs you will retain your own as you are not familiar with them. i.e. if a male changes into a girl then he will retain his male organs unless he knows about the female organs. Also if you change using this Jutsu you will become this sex for as long as you retain it. So if are male and change into a woman, you in essence are a woman and can have proper sex with another male.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

Citrus warning at end of chapter… No lemons or limes yet… I am starting to introduce some time skips in this chapter to bring them up to academy graduation… That will happen in the next few chapters. Enjoy.

Chapter 11…

Naruto and Hinata woke the next morning feeling rested and refreshed as they did not have any nightmares. They again woke up next to each other. They took turns washing up and headed to breakfast. Breakfast was quiet and Naruto had remembered his manners causing both Hinata and Hana to smile at him which caused him to blush at their attention.

They headed off to the academy where the other students had assembled. A group of girls had formed before they had arrived and began to following Naruto around the grounds. Naruto held onto Hinata's hand like a life line in shark infested waters. Suddenly one of the girls approached Naruto and smiled at him this caused chills to run down his spine.

"Hi Akemi, my name is Taree. Would you like to have lunch together?" Taree asked with a flirtatious smile.

Naruto smiled and looked at Hinata. 'What do you think Hinata-chan?'

'I am not sure I trust her. But if she does not have a problem with me coming along it should be okay.' Hinata responded by thinking to Naruto.

"Sure that would be great. If you don't have a problem with Takara coming along too." Naruto said with a huge smile that appears to elicit several 'awe's and sighs from the other girls. This caused Naruto to cringe inwardly.

Taree looked momentarily annoyed but then smiled smugly. "Sure SHE can come along, Akemi-kun."

Classes went fine after they met up with Keiko. Hinata and Keiko helped Naruto with his reading as it was readily apparent that he could barely read. This did cause more of the Akemi fan girls to want to help him out. This only caused more fear in Naruto of fan girls. Naruto trusted Hinata and Keiko to help him and this lessened his worries about the fan girls and his inability to read well.

Lunch was also interesting in that Taree and the other fan girls made it a point to place themselves between Naruto and Hinata. This again caused Naruto to become very nervous and skittish as he had never had this type of attention before. "So why are all of you girls wanting to eat with me?" Naruto asked.

"You are the strongest, cutest, and coolest boy in class." Taree answered.

"Does his grandfather being leader have anything to do with all this attention that Akemi-kun is receiving?" Hinata asked as one of the other girls push her away, trying to jockey for a closer position to Naruto. Hinata saw the flash of realization of being caught in Taree and several of the other girls faces. 'Naruto, most of them are pretending to like you because of who your grandfather is.'

Naruto looked confused. 'What do you mean Hinata-chan?'

'If you had no relatives in power most of if not all of these girls would not be sitting here now.' Hinata responded.

Naruto now looked angry. 'You mean they are only interested in me because of what I am not who I am?'

Taree noticed Naruto's expressions. "Are you okay Akemi-kun?"

'I am sorry Naruto-kun. I respect you and care for you for who you are not who you are related too.' Hinata said as she gave Naruto a kind smile. 'We can talk about this later if you like Naruto-kun.' Hinata thought to Naruto as she sat up from another round of being pushed by other girls.

"I am okay but you girls should be nicer to Takara-chan. She has been my friend for a long time so please be nice to her." Naruto said as he returned her smile.

Naruto and Hinata were followed part of the way home by most of the girls in the class. They tried several times to avoid them but to no avail. They finally rounded a corner engaged their henge and walked back the other direction. Not knowing that they could do this helped them in losing the fan girl tail. When they got home they found Keiko waiting for them along with her family, Ichiro, Kikiyo and the grandparents.

When Naruto entered the house and closed the door behind him Naruto asked a couple pointed questions. "Obaasan what does it mean when most of the girls in class follow you home and they treat Hinata-chan badly?"

"Sounds like Naruto-kun has a fan girl problem. Doesn't he girls?" Hana said with a short laugh. This caused Keiko to laugh but Hinata had a worried look on her face. "What is wrong dear?"

Hinata looked down. "I am not sure obaasan, but Naruto-kun has been alone most of his life, I am just worried about him."

Hana smiled and rubbed Hinata's head. "I am glad you worry about Naruto-kun. And you should be. The real question is 'what are the girls that are chasing him after'?"

"What do you mean obaasan?" Naruto asked as he looked confused.

"I will explain it now and again later when I think you will understand." Hana said as she ruffled Naruto's hair. "Well there are girls who will like boys who have power or are associated with power. That either the family is strong, or in a family that has political power, like your grandfather and do not care much about the boy they are chasing, just the power or status they would get by being associated with the boy. They are also more interested in who they think the boy is not who he actually is. This has ruined many relationships over time."

"Take Hinata-chan for example, she likes you for you, not who your father or grandfather maybe. You like her because of who she is and what she has done for you. For the most part the other girls will want to be with you so that they are higher in social status. It is a game for them. They will say they love you but they do not. Hinata also knows your secret, how would those girls react to it?" Hana said to a very confused looking Naruto.

"Huh? I like Hinata-chan because she is nice and she is pretty." Naruto said while he blushed. "She also accepted me when others would not. I don't think the other girls would react too well to it."

"Naruto-kun is Naruto-kun and I wouldn't have him any other way." Hinata said as she smiled and hugged him.

"It doesn't hurt that you are betrothed does it?" Kido asked.

Both children shook their heads with big smiles.

"What do you mean accepted you when no one else would? And what is this secret you are talking about?" Keiko asked.

"Honey, we decided not to judge Naruto as most of the other parents in Konoha did. I am happy we did not even when the Uchiha council told us too." Haku stated. "Naruto is, special. Other than being your cousin he has a big secret and only he can tell you but I think that Takashi-sama, Hana-sama, and Kido-sama will know when it is right to tell you."

"Do you think she is ready to know?" Hana asked.

"She has kept his secret so far, she is family and it may work to help him avoid those fan girls. I don't see a reason why not. Let me go ask my father and I will be back. Until then I want all of you to do taijutsu training." Ichiro said as he left.

The children, Kikiyo, and Kido all walked towards the dojo.

Hana made sure the children were out of hearing range before speaking. "You do know what Naruto-kun contains, don't you?"

Haku held Shippo's hand. "Yes we are familiar with him being a Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. As a member of the Uchiha we knew about the clan's ability to summon the fox demon. We also knew that my brother sealed it into Naruto. We did not know he was my brother at the time or until recently. Naruto does hold his burden well. Is that why you wanted to talk to us?"

"Yes, that is why. We were afraid that you might be someone who would hate your nephew." Hana said sadly.

"Even before I knew he was my nephew we felt pity for him. If we had known he was my nephew we would have taken him in ourselves. No matter what the baka Uchihas thought. He is family, as is Ichiro-san and Takashi-sama. While I can't say that we love him yet, mainly because we have had little time to get to know him. We do care for him." Haku said as tears welled up in her eyes. "So what is this about a betrothal?" Haku attempted to change the subject.

"We will get to that in a little bit. First Naruto is the container, and you have acknowledged that. We appreciate your attitude towards him. We do so love having him here. Second there have been attempts on his life from the villagers, the Uchiha and the Hyuuga of Konoha." Hana said sternly.

Haku squeezed Shippo's hand as Hana continued. "Now for the betrothal, Hinata and Naruto were betrothed the day after Naruto's fourth birthday. According to a special source, the Kyuubi himself, it was predestined. Now there are complications, quite a few I might add."

"Complications? What type of complications?" Shippo asked.

"Well, first off there were two betrothals filed for Hinata on the same day. The one with Naruto was first and had Hinata's mother's signature, which the second one lacked. Thus as law states Naruto's will take precedence over the second and this has been decreed by our leader and the Hokage. There are several problems related to the betrothals. The big problem is that the Konoha Hyuuga clan council has a kill on sight order for both Naruto and Hinata. Secondly Fugaku has Hiashi under genjutsu. And if that was not enough, the Kyuubi is splitting the seal between Naruto and Hinata. Is that few enough complications for you?" Hana asked exhaustedly.

"Wait, the seal is splitting between the two of them? Is that safe?" Shippo asked with a worried look.

"Naruto has used the Kyuubi chakra to save both his and Hinata's life twice now. The Kyuubi has determined that she is too be his mate and will do what is needed to insure her survival. I would say now that if one of them were to die, they would both die. If not from the heartache, it would be from the connection they have via the Kyuubi." Hana raised her hand to forestall and questions. "We have sent this information to Sarutobi and asked if he would send Jiraiya to help with this. Until then we can only watch them. We have only seen the Kyuubi posses Naruto once and it was only to talk to us. We believe Naruto was unconscious so we can only trust it for now."

Ichiro returned just before dinner with Takashi. The Senju decided to stay for dinner. Takashi explained to Keiko about Naruto and that he contained the spirit of the Kyuubi. She was both excited and scared. She had a cool if scary cousin. They also discussed what they were going to do with the Kyuubi splitting the seal across Hinata and Naruto.

This information helped Hinata understand why her chakra control was getting worse and Naruto's was getting better. They just figured it would take more chakra control exercises. On another front, fan girls. Keiko had agreed with Hinata that they would help Naruto out with his girl problem. They would both claim to be his girlfriends. This confused him as he was not sure what one was and what to do with them. They assured him that it would come in time. Naruto agree to this not knowing what it meant but if it would help keep the scary girls at bay, especially Taree, he was all for it.

The next morning Naruto entered the Academy grounds arm in arm with both Keiko and Hinata. Taree immediately asked what was going on. "Keiko and I thought that Akemi-kun was too special for one girl but could not handle more than two so we both asked him out this morning and he said yes." Hinata said with a foxy grin.

"You little witch! How dare you take Akemi-kun from me! He is mine and he would me to become a good leader." Taree yelled in rage. She pulled back her fist and attacked Hinata. Hinata slid out of Naruto's arm while Keiko pulled Naruto aside.

Hinata moved into a juken stance and activated her Byakugan. Taree hesitated for a second then threw a punch at Hinata's face. Hinata easily ducked it and tapped Taree's shoulder, which fell limply to her side as Taree screamed in pain. "What did you do to me? And why does my shoulder hurt so much?" Taree asked as she cradled her left shoulder nearly in tears.

"You are fighting a Hyuuga. I sent chakra into your shoulder thus disabling it. Do not ever claim my Akemi-kun, he is mine and Keiko's and you cannot have him. I would advise going to the nurse to have that shoulder looked at." Hinata said as she bowed and retook Naruto's left arm.

As the three entered the academy heading to class Hinata and Naruto could swear that they heard someone laughing. Hinata was called to the nurse's office later that day. "Takara Hyuuga reporting to the nurse's office as requested." Hinata announced as she entered the office with several beds along the north and south walls.

"Ah yes, Takara-chan. Can you come here and sit down please?" A woman sat at the desk with long black hair said while she filled out paperwork.

Hinata complied and sat in the chair she was shown. She waited about five minutes when the nurse turned toward Hinata and looked at her. The nurse's eyes were similar to the Hyuuga's but were iridescent green and silver, instead of silver, white or lavender like Hinata's eyes.

"So you are the famous defender of Akemi-kun? And a Hyuuga too, that would explain the chakra burn on Taree's shoulder. My name is Aki Hyuuga, and would like to talk to you about your vision. I have a theory and would like to see if I am right and if so I would like to talk to your grandparents this evening." Aki said with a kind smile. "Now activate your Byakugan and tell me what you see in the areas that I point too. Can you do that Takara-chan?"

Hinata nodded as Aki pointed to a spot on her shoulder. Hinata activated her Byakugan. "I see a large chakra point that is not circular." Aki nodded and moved over her chest to near her heart. "There is nothing there other than the chakra circulatory system and a small bulge." Aki again nodded and shifted her hand to her neck near the back of the ear. "I again see a large disfigured chakra point." Aki nodded and moved her hand to the near middle of her left forearm. "Again I only see a bulge in the chakra system. " Aki nods and moves her hand to a place on her left chest above the breast. "I see a bulge in the chakra system and a bundle… near… your…" Hinata blushed. "Your nipple… I am sorry Aki-sama." Hinata lowered gaze to the ground and deactivated her Byakugan, while she turned beat red.

Aki grabbed Hinata's chin and pulled Hinata's gaze up to eye level. "You did fine Takara-chan. You verified what I thought. Thank you Takara-chan, you may return to class and I will meet with your grandparents tonight to go over my findings."

Hinata went back to class wondering what was going on. She found the lesson they were being taught was on the history of the village. Keiko got her back up to speed with the lesson. Hinata discussed what she and the nurse did earlier during the lunch break with Naruto and Keiko.

That evening Hana talked to Aki while Keiko, Hinata and Naruto worked on meditation that evening. "Aki-chan it has been a while since you came by the house. How are you and Akeno doing, will there be children soon?" Hana asked smiling.

"Hana-sama, Akeno-kun and I will be trying within the next year to have a child, thank you for asking. I did come here to discuss the finding I got when I tested Takara's Byakugan." Aki said with a smile, she appeared almost excited.

"Continue Aki-chan, I am all ears." Hana said as she watched Aki's enthusiasm almost get the better of her.

"Well your granddaughter has the healing eyes." Aki said smiling.

"Are you sure?" Hana asked as she sat forward not sure if she heard Aki right.

"I tested her, she sees the chakra points as just bulges on the chakra circulatory system. She sees the healing bundles and pressure points more easily. She is a gifted child, you must be proud." Aki said as she bowed. "I know Akeno could help train her in medical jutsu after she graduates so that she can learn how to use her eyes even better. That is if you approve."

"Aki-chan, I am not Hiashi or the Konoha clan council who only look for the combat capabilities of a Hyuuga or ninja. If she would be a good medic then we need to make sure we have her put in a group that would need her services. And as it stands I am almost certain that Akemi will need that. He is rather reckless." Hana and Aki both laughed as they both knew Naruto had made more than a few trips to the nurse's office in his first few days at the academy. They both knew that Naruto healed quickly with little or no scarring, mostly no scarring.

Hinata took her not being able to see the actual chakra points hard but Naruto was able to cheer her up even before she heard that she could see the healing points on the body. Naruto seemed to be able to make Hinata happy. She found out that this was a variant on the normal Byakugan especially suited for medical ninjas.

Over the next couple months everyone got used to the 'normal' schedule. Wake up, shower, breakfast, academy, evening training, dinner, discussion and then bed. The weekends were spent going to clan meetings, meeting with other clans and the occasional fun day.

This weekend was one of those. Hinata's birthday fell upon Saturday. She was excited but did not know what was going to happen. Naruto was even more excited as he had never really been to a birthday party, one that he was expected to attend and one that he was wanted at. Kido kept Hinata away from the house most of the day as Naruto, Hana, Ichiro, Kikiyo, and the Senju decorated the house and bought her some gifts.

Kido brought Hinata home around 3 pm as it was starting to get dark and the snow had just started to fall. Hinata and Naruto had never seen snow so they were excited by this too. Hinata arrived in the house to a banner wishing her a happy birthday and a huge hug and kiss from Naruto, which he accidentally kissed her on the lips. Both blushed as some of the academy students later teased her about Naruto stealing her first kiss. She admitted to Naruto's surprise that she was happy to give it to him.

Hinata enjoyed all of her gifts. She especially enjoyed the plush fox toy from Naruto the most. She also received a book on herbs and balms from Aki and Akeno. Naruto had marked an area for her out in the garden so that she could grow any plants she wanted. Hana and Kido also gave Naruto one also. Keiko was teased that she had lost Akemi to Takara as Hinata had fallen asleep after dinner on Naruto. Keiko smiled and said she was not worried about it, and that he was more like a brother than a boy she would want as a boyfriend, to which Naruto put up a good fake cry of grief that he had lost one of his girlfriends.

The winter was cold but the children's skills improved rapidly. Naruto had become decent at taijutsu, and was fourth in the class and heading up as he actually had sparring partners during school and afterward so that he could better learn a technique when working with a sparring partner. Hinata learned to recognize chakra points and was better able to hit them then before. Kido turned out to be a patient and loving teacher, he would correct her mistakes but would not put her down and demean her like her father had. Also Kakashi and Kurenai had made a stop by the village in mid January. They brought news that Jiraiya would be stopping by to check up on Naruto, Hinata and the fox.

Naruto and Hinata had several dreams of playing with a fox that had a collar on it but their favorite game was hide and seek during the nights in their dreams. Naruto, Hinata and Keiko started to have the local ANBU chase them in games of hide and seek. They would never win but the ANBU and the children had fun with this. The only bad thing that happened during the winter was that Naruto and Hinata were attacked by an Iwa shinobi, he was drunk at the time and thought that Naruto without his henge was the Fourth Hokage of Konoha reborn. Both the children were injured but the fox made sure that they did not die. They spent a week in the hospital.

Iwa apologized and had the ninja executed for attacking a civilian and children to boot. Also news that Kodai had died by the hands of a Kumo ninja in a drunken brawl, was welcome news that he would bother Whirlpool no more. Kodai had lost his headband and was working as a bouncer for the bar in Konoha when this happened.

The spring came and went as the children continued to improve. Naruto was coming into his own now as the second best at taijutsu, and third out of eighteen in his studies behind Hinata and Keiko. The Uzumaki, Hyuuga, and Senju were all proud of their children's success. October came and Naruto had his first official birthday party. He broke down and cried for about an hour as he didn't know how to feel. Hinata was able to console him. Jiraiya even stopped by and gave Naruto and Hinata a bill of perfect seal health as the seal continued to divide between them. Naruto enjoyed his presents and the friends he had made at school, although Taree did try to kiss him that day. Naruto continued to be scared of the fan girls that did not give up even after Hinata and Keiko had called Naruto their boyfriend.

The next couple years went by fast as the children grew and reached their tenth birthdays. The subjects were now covering jutsu and chakra control. Naruto, Hinata and Keiko all had their chakra under very good if not excellent control. They were able to do the standard henge but preferred the alternate that Naruto had come up with during training. Keiko could not do it without being drained as she had before. While Hinata worked on her juken Naruto and Keiko worked on their other senses. Naruto seemed to have a great sense of smell, nearly as good as any Inuzuka from Konoha. They both had excellent hearing but Keiko had more patience thus could isolate sounds better than Naruto.

As the year progress groups of three students would come together and seemed to mesh well together. The students took their example from Naruto, Hinata and Keiko. Naruto's one sticking point was that he could never ever produce a working clone. Kikiyo took the three aside and taught them the shadow clone jutsu as an alternative to the clone jutsu. Kikiyo made sure to explain all the benefits and the drawback to this jutsu. The benefits were that you had a tangible and thinking clone, and it would send you back anything it learned. The drawbacks were, it took a lot of chakra to initiate the jutsu, it would spread the remaining chakra across all the clones that were produced, and it could cause mental strain as the clones 'died'.

Keiko's chakra reserves were still too low to do more than one shadow clone and even then she suffered hardest from the mental strain of the clone. Hinata was not as badly bothered by the strain but could only produce about ten at the most before it would tax her heavily mentally. Naruto on the other hand was able to produce hundreds and was not strained in the least by the mental feedback. They all learned that the shadow clone was a good scouting tool, and possible training tool at least for Naruto.

News had come, that Fugaku and most of the Uchiha had died at the hands of Itachi Uchiha. All the males except for babies and Sasuke, his brother, had been murdered. Wondering if the genjutsu had worn off of Hiashi Kido visited him and asked questions about Hinata and her sister Hanabi. Hiashi was quite personable when dealing with Hanabi. He would have to fight between anger and sadness when he was dealing with the subject of Hinata. Kido had returned to report that the genjutsu was still in effect, but might break if they could find a way.

The next year Naruto, Hinata, and Keiko had discovered what they were missing from their improved henge when they went through sex education training. Naruto and Hinata were found in the bathroom standing naked in front of each other. They were caught with their pants down literally by the adults, Hana, Kido, Ichiro and Kikiyo. The excuses were as follows:

Naruto, "I wasn't going to do anything. I don't want to ruin my wedding night with Hinata-chan. This was just so we could perfect the improved henge. It's not like we won't see each other like this anyways." Naruto boasted still standing in the buff. The adults nodded as he did have a point.

Hinata had found a towel and wrapped it around herself. Hinata had blushed madly, turning a bright red. "Um… Obaasan, jiji, hakufu, obasan. We… we… were not going to do anything. I promise." Hinata admitted nearly in tears.

"Did you just call me aunt, Hinata-chan?" Kikiyo asked as she tried to not laugh at the situation.

"Yes… ma'am… You are like an aunt to me and Naruto-kun. You also seem to like Ichiro-san very much." Hinata hesitantly said. This caused Kikiyo to blush slightly.

"Okay you two get dressed now. And don't let me catch you naked again until morning. Am I clear?" Kido said sternly as he walked out of the bathroom. The rest of the adults left as the children quickly got dressed. They left the bathroom both with beet red faces.

Dinner that night was a quiet affair. Naruto and Hinata quietly went to bed and went to sleep.

--

A/N: Naruto is slightly taller in this story than in cannon as Hana and Kido make sure he has a balanced diet. Both Naruto and Hinata are stronger also. Naruto was given a chance to read and has taken this opportunity and ran with it, thus making his rank higher in his class than he did in cannon. Hinata right now would have a close fight with Neji, Neji would win as he is older, but it would be closer.

Hinata's healing sight is a variation on the Byakugan that allows her to see the healing points and nerve bundles on a person. This can be more effective in combat than the chakra points. If you hit a nerve bundle you can either ease the pain or cause excruciating pain, thus in healing you ease the pain, and in combat you make the pain a distraction or even bring it to a level that either your opponent will pass out or die from the pain.

The citrus at the end of the chapter explains what Kido was talking about, now Naruto and Hinata know what is missing from the improved henge.

If any of you are wondering if there is anything going on with Ichiro and Kikiyo… I'm not telling… I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto but I am enjoying my own storyline hope you do…

Chapter 12… Enter Mizuki…

The next year was fairly quiet for the village. Missions were on the increase as were relations between Iwa, Uzu, and Konoha. Takashi constantly complained about the paperwork. Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and Kurenai visited the village and met with the children on several occasions. Jiraiya again gave the children a bill of perfect health for the seal. Kurenai and Sarutobi were astounded and dismayed by the improvements of Naruto and Hinata. Sarutobi was saddened by the knowledge that his village had mistreated and miss judged the boy. Both Kurenai and Sarutobi were angered by how the academy had sabotaged Naruto's education from the start. They were happy that he was in a healthy environment where he could learn and not have prejudice, he thus prospered.

The Tsuchikage visited Uzu and met with Naruto and Hinata.

"He does look a lot like Minato Namikaze but only about twelve years old. But even if he were the child of our old enemy he will be safe. I do apologize for my man's attack on you and your fiancé Akemi-san." The Tsuchikage said apologetically with a bow.

"Thank you sir, I appreciate your apology and your assurances that we are now safe from being attacked by your men by mistake." Naruto said as he and Hinata bowed.

"You and your fiancé need no longer fear Iwa as we are allied with your village. We value your village's roll in improving our relations with Konoha. I look forward to meeting you again when you have become a shinobi. Please come visit us in Iwa as my guests after your graduation." The Tsuchikage said proudly.

"Thank you, we will sir. We look forward to seeing Iwa. I hope your negotiations with jiji go well. Good day sir, jiji, we must return to the academy. If you would please excuse us both, we have to get back to the academy." Naruto said as he and Hinata bowed to both men and then left the leader's office.

"You have a good grandson, Takashi, I like him. His fiancé is a nice fit for him I would say." The Tsuchikage commented.

"Thank you. Yes he is one special child and I am sure will become a strong shinobi. She does care for him deeply." Takashi said with a big grin.

Naruto and Hinata engaged their henge and returned to the academy. They returned to the academy at lunch time. Taree was waiting with the other fan girls for Naruto to show up and almost tackled him when he rounded the corner to the yard area for the academy. Naruto noticed her as she push chakra into her jump alerting him of the impending attack. He ducked just in time to watch her fly past giving him and give him a view up her skirt.

'Hey Hinata-chan. Would you wear lime green thong panties?' Naruto asked Hinata mentally as he shook his head while smiling a silly grin.

Hinata smirked at Naruto's question and shook her head. 'You should know by now I would never wear a thong. Let alone a lime green one. Why are you looking at her panties Naruto-kun?'

Naruto laughed out loud as Taree went skidding several feet past Naruto. 'Was wondering what she wore. Now I understand why she is so uptight.'

Hinata giggled at Naruto's comment. 'Okay Naruto-kun no more fun with looking at other girls. You are mine.'

Naruto smiled and kissed Hinata on the cheek. 'Of course you know I am my hime.'

The jutsu lesson at the academy that day was on elemental affinity. The teacher had all the students take a piece of paper and push some chakra into it. All were surprised at what happened. A couple of the people in the class had two or more reactions. One girl had three, her paper was divided evenly with one part was soaked, another part was burnt and the final part crumbled to dust. Keiko's paper was soaked and crumbled to dust. Naruto had taken two pieces and hid the second piece. His paper split but was wet on the fringes. Hinata's paper was soaked but was also split on the edges, the exact opposite of what Naruto's was.

The teacher examined each of the papers and told each student what each meant. The teacher told the students that had equal parts of each element more than likely had a Kekkei Genkai, meaning that Keiko and Ari fell into that category. Others like Naruto and Hinata had a major affinity and a secondary affinity. This would make the second element easier to learn but not as easy at the primary.

In Konoha the academy students were learning the clone, substitution and the transformation jutsu. Although one certain Uchiha had a couple problems, that being dealing with a boring class, and dealing with fan girls, much to the amusement of the other boys in the class. After his mother and the women of his clan survived the massacre he was left the figurative head of the Uchiha clan. Mikoto ran the clan in his stead as he was not old enough to run the clan yet. Sasuke's worst problem was that his brother was the one who had done the massacre and was still on the loose, he wanted, no had to avenge the clan.

Ino Yamanaka teased Sakura Haruno about not being able to get the notice of Sasuke, which caused him to just role his eyes in annoyance. He had found out after the massacre that he was betrothed but the girl that he was betrothed too was now missing and had been so for around five years. Thus any relief from the fan girls was far in coming. He wished he could find this Hinata Hyuuga girl so that he could use her to get rid of the fan girls and be done with them. He did not care that she was the heir to the Hyuuga just that she was not a fan girl. His mother had told him that Hiashi would not change the betrothal to his younger daughter Hanabi as she is designated heir until Hinata appeared, if she ever did.

Not that he disliked girls. He just had found no real use for them. Other than his mother and a couple of cousins they were mostly useless. He understood they had their place, to help him produce children but what else would they do for him? Thus his aversion to females was formed as he liked his brooding attitude but not the females that wanted to fawn all over him to try to help him through his trauma. Maybe if he hung out with Shino Aburame the girls might avoid him more.

Back in Uzu, the students learned how common the affinities were to each village. Wind was rare in Konoha as it was also in Kumo, where fire and Lightning were common. Water was rare in Iwa and in Suna. Uzu was a mix of affinities but water was the most prevalent. Naruto, Hinata and Ari found that they had rare affinities, wind and lightning thus it would be hard to find and learn jutsu with those elements as there were few trainers or scrolls with such jutsu.

Naruto at home had tried to push the Kyuubi's chakra into the second piece of paper but was not able to access the chakra. With six months left before graduation Ichiro started Naruto on his sword training. He was given a set of wooden swords to carry around so that he would at least have the training swords on hand and so he would be used to their weight. Normal training continued in earnest.

A few weeks before graduation Kakashi and Kurenai showed up at the school with several scrolls for Naruto and Hinata. They were to receive them upon graduation, if they graduated. Kurenai gave Hinata some genjutsu scrolls to her as a graduation present. Kakashi said he would have a present for Naruto if he graduated and to find him to get the present from him.

Two weeks before graduation a familiar chakra signature came into the academy and was headed towards the classroom. Naruto with terror on his face transformed into his female form, a red headed girl. Hinata saw this and changed into a long haired Hyuuga boy.

All Hinata heard from Naruto in her mind was. 'Mizuki, Mizuki.' He repeated over and over.

Hinata rubbed his back in an attempt to calm him/her down. 'It's okay Naruto, I am here. Whatever is wrong we will get through it together.'

Naruto looked at Hinata with utter terror in his eyes. She had not seen this for a long time and had hoped it would never return.

The door opened and a gray haired male chunin entered the class room. "Who are you and why are you disturbing my class." Nori asked angrily.

"I am Mizuki Touji of the leaf and was told to observe your teaching techniques by the Hokage." Mizuki said full of arrogance.

Nori smiled kindly but the killing intent was thick. "That is nice you have the permission of the Hokage. But he is not the recognized leader of THIS village. Now if you will please go to the leader's office and bring back the proper forms I may allow you back into the class."

"No need to get violent cute thing. So where is this leader's office? I also hear you have an Uzumaki in the class." Mizuki smiled evilly as he scanned the room.

"That is nice Touji-san but you will leave the class now!" Nori said as the children's laughter brought Mizuki's attention back to Nori. He ran screaming as he saw a white nine-tailed fox the size of a wolf standing before him. He seemed to not be able to get out of the room quick enough.

"Now children knowledge is power. Can any of you, except for Uzumaki-sama and Hyuuga-sama, tell me why the Leaf shinobi ran so quickly?" Nori asked as she returned to original form in quiet puff of smoke.

Ari raised her hand and was acknowledged. "Konoha was attacked by the Kyuubi, and you did a henge in to that form. This brought in him the fear that the Kyuubi was here and he thus ran."

"Very good Ari. Akemi and Takara you may keep your henge up as long as you need too. Now back to the lesson. Using an enemies fear against them." Nori continued her lecture.

In Takashi's office Takashi was not happy. "Why the hell were you in the academy?" Takashi asked Mizuki.

"I am an instructor from Konoha and was ordered by the Hokage to observe your teaching style." Mizuki answered as if bored.

Takashi's anger was increasing. "Your paperwork is in order. But why were you looking for an Uzumaki? And why at the Academy?"

"We had a child named Uzumaki and wanted to see if there was any family resemblance. Nothing more." Mizuki said.

"My grandchild is in the academy. Did the Hokage tell you that I am Takashi Uzumaki?" Takashi said with an evil grin.

Mizuki's face went white. He looked closely at Takashi and saw several features that were similar to Naruto. "No he didn't."

"You would not want to harm my grandchild now would you?" Takashi asked in a barely calm tone.

Mizuki just shook his head.

"Also why did you come to my office in wet pants? Did you spill something on them?" Takashi asked. "Never mind, you may go to the academy tomorrow." Takashi said as he waved Mizuki out of his office.

Takashi left his office just before the academy let the students out. He hurried to Hana and Kido's house. He waited and saw Naruto and Hinata in their henge forms accompanied by Keiko and Nori. "So I assume this is because of Mizuki appeared in town?" Takashi asked.

Naruto and Hinata both nodded with worried looks on their faces.

"Uzumaki-sama, the children are afraid of this Mizuki person. I also do not like him. I do not want him in my classroom. Please do not make me put him in there. I am trying to teach not harm them. None of the other children were bothered by him, not even Keiko here. I think there is some history that we do not know about. Well… I just wanted to make sure they got home okay and that Kido and Hana were informed about the occurrence. Good night Hana-sama, Kido-sama, Takashi-sama, Akemi-kun, and Takara-chan." Nori said as she bowed and left.

Kido ushered everyone into the building and closed the doors. Kido took a deep breath. "Everyone to the dojo." They all walked quietly to the dojo and sat down. "Okay what is going on with this Mizuki character? Naruto? Hinata?" Kido calmly asked.

Naruto sighed. "The day we left Konoha, I was waiting to meet with Kurenai-sensei and Hinata-chan. Mizuki showed up and attacked me. Having experience at running away from villagers and village ninja I was able to escape and return to my apartment. Mizuki attacked me he tried to kill me. Hinata-chan can vouch that I was injured when I arrived at my apartment." Naruto smiled weakly at Hinata.

"Yes jiji I can tell you that Naruto-kun was very hurt and also very agitated. We both wanted to leave the village that didn't want us. We went inside his apartment and he packed up. Just as we were ready to leave several branch members broke the door down and attacked us. We fled out the window and to the main gates. We asked for help but the guards ignored us. So we ran into the woods. I could run no further. A Kumo nin had apparently fought with the Konoha nin and won. He attacked Naruto-kun and he went down. I refused to go with the Kumo nin and received this scar to fighting him." Hinata pulled the collar of her shirt down to reveal the end of her scar at the collar bone. Naruto grabbed her and held her in strong embrace.

"I woke up to see Hinata-chan bleeding badly. My only thought was to save her. I touched her right here." He laid his hand on the center of her chest near her heart. This caused Hinata to blush at his touch. "The next thing I know I woke up next to her in a wagon on our way here. So there you have last time we saw Mizuki-baka." Naruto said very annoyed. "Also he spent extra time with me teaching me the wrong hand signs when I was at the academy. He would always pass out harder tests to me, but never the other students. I do not want to see him again."

"Naruto, Hinata, if you can stand to be around him for a week and not lose your cover, you are guaranteed to graduate. Being able to face and overcome your fears is a sign of a good shinobi. You also have your family here for support. And yes I mean you Hinata as you are his wife-to-be. Keiko you are his cousin, and thus also family. We are family and we are here for you Naruto and Hinata." Takashi said with a warm smile.

The next week was the hardest week for Naruto and Hinata, but Nori also helped out in keeping Mizuki on edge the whole time. She would henge with slight variance each day. The theme for the week was different Biiju. The first day she had fox ears and nine tails. The second day she had cat ears whiskers and two tails. Wednesday she had a dark rings around her eyes and a single tanuki tail. Thursday she had wolf ears, elongated canines, and five wolf tails. Friday had Mizuki wanting the day to end. Nori would shift her appearance between each of the Biiju every thirty minutes and would mix and match features like nine fox tails with wolf facial features. The children enjoyed this too no end and the lessons on the Biiju went well.

The preliminary tests on Friday showed that Naruto was an overall third in the class. Hinata was overall second. The big surprise was Ari was the overall leader for the whole class. Keiko was fourth overall in the class. Taree was overall fourteenth in the class and still bugging Naruto for a kiss. This slipped Mizuki's attention as Naruto was in female form all week long.

Five of the students proved that they had finally been able to manipulate part or all of their elemental affinity. Ari, Naruto, Hinata, Keiko and Shinji all were able to create a small water snake. Naruto, Hinata, and Ari all were able to cut a leaf nearly in half. Mizuki was impressed by the abilities of the students and wanted to meet with the families of those students. All of the families refused, Ichiro and the Hyuuga were more vocal as they did not want Mizuki to interfere with the family training.

Mizuki showed up on the Hyuuga doorstep after Friday at the academy. He pushed his way past Hana and towards the dojo. He saw three of the students he wanted to get a closer look at, Naruto, Hinata and Keiko. Naruto and Hinata had changed form as soon as they had felt his presence at the front door. Kido was watching the children meditate. "Sir you are trespassing and I would like to know why. You are also disturbing their concentration."

"Sorry Hyuuga-sama, but I just wanted to observe the family training so that I can report it back to the Hokage and the Hyuuga family." Mizuki lied.

Kido knew he lied but wanted more information. "Family training is just that. It is for the family not the general public. Also it is not for a foreign village. Had you come in on any secret training I would have killed you, and been within my rights to do so."

"I apologize for the intrusion. Why are an Uzumaki, a Senju, and a Hyuuga all training together as a family?" Mizuki asked.

"My grandson and Akemi-chan are betrothed, Keiko-chan is Akemi-chan's cousin. Thus we are all family. Now if you don't leave now I will be forced to remove you, and by lethal force if necessary. Do I make myself clear?" Kido said as he activated his Byakugan.

Mizuki seeing this backed away and walked towards the door. "Thank you for your time Hyuuga-sama."

Kido's shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh. "I should have killed him just then but the paperwork would have been horrible."

The children laughed at Kido's comment.

Naruto and Hinata kept their henge on when they went to bed. Naruto also kept his practice swords close to the bed that night. They awoke suddenly when Naruto was lifted out of bed suddenly. Naruto attempted to grab his swords but was only able to get one. Hinata stood and confronted the would-be abductor but was slammed into the wall and knocked unconscious. The last thing Naruto saw was Hinata in her henge form slump to the ground and then the world went black.

--

A/N: Yes I know another cliff hanger… Guess who it was? More than likely you would be right.

**Warning next chapter is very adult themed… **It was hard to write and I am ironing out some of the hard parts. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…

Note: Remember Naruto is in female form at the beginning of this chapter. Also warning… Adult content to follow… No lemon but violence and nudity to follow. Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 13… Mizuki needs to die…

Naruto woke and realized that he was tied up, and not able to move. He looked around the room to a sight that frightened him, Mizuki was undressing. And Naruto's night kimono was missing leaving him only in panties. "Ah, I see you are awake. I am sure you will make a good bride." Mizuki said as he threw his shirt onto a chair. The room appeared to be from one of the few inns that were in Uzu. "I do this and I will have a straight shot into the ruling family of this village."

Naruto gulped, he also realized that his henge had held through the assault and his unconsciousness. "You realize that my father will decapitate both of your heads if you do what you appear to be thinking about doing. You could also start a war with between Iwa, Uzu and Konoha. Also my clan has no rules for joining the clan that way. We usually kill the pervert, and console the victim." Naruto said with a wary voice. Not wanting to drop the henge and surely die, but also not wanting to be raped by Mizuki. He did the next best thing. 'Hinata help!' His thoughts screamed.

At the Hyuuga house, Hinata was still unconscious as Kido and Hana entered the room to find out what the commotion was. "Hinata-chan dear, Are you okay? Where is Naruto-kun and what happened?" Hana said as she ran to Hinata who was still slumped against the wall. "Kido get Ichiro and some of the ANBU. Let them know that Akemi was kidnapped in female form." Kido nodded as he ran from the room.

"Hinata dear wake up…" Hana said as she softly shook Hinata.

Hinata stirred. "Naruto-kun… Why is Mizuki-sensei here?" Her eyes shot open. "Obaasan! Naruto-kun was kidnapped by Mizuki-sensei." Hinata said as her henge broke and she cried into Hana's shoulder.

Hinata suddenly heard Naruto's voice loud and clear in her head. 'Hinata help!'

'Naruto-kun? Where are you?' Hinata frantically thought.

'I am in one of the inns. Send somebody quickly or we might not have a happy wedding night… No not the pants…' Naruto voice said as she was suddenly overcome by a feeling of revulsion.

"Obaasan Naruto-kun is at an inn close to here and Mizuki is undressing." Hinata said as she got up unsteadily.

"Ok Hinata-chan re-engage your henge and we will find your Naruto-kun." Hana said as she led Hinata out the door.

They ran to the nearest inn. Hinata could feel Naruto's terror through the link get stronger. "This way Obaasan. He is here." Hinata said as two ANBU and Ichiro landed next to Hana. "We need to hurry." Hinata said in a frantic voice.

The entered the inn quickly. "Room! Konoha nin! Now!" Ichiro said demandingly to the woman at the desk.

"103 it is the second on the left." The woman responded.

In the room Naruto was struggling against the ropes that bound his wrists. Mizuki had already hit him twice and had finally tied the ropes on Naruto's wrists to the bed posts and gagged him. Mizuki hit Naruto again as Naruto barely remained conscious. Naruto felt his legs being tied and pulled straight towards the corners of the bed. 'There goes nearly my last defense.' Naruto felt something cold on his stomach and looked down to see a kunai being used to cut his panties off. 'No! Hinata! Now would be a good time! Shit! I might have to reveal who I am!' Naruto thought to Hinata.

'We are almost there Naruto-kun. Please hold on.' Hinata responded. "We need to hurry, or something bad WILL happen." Hinata said as they ran down the hall.

Naruto shook his head and knew that this was bad. Mizuki removed his underwear and moved up between Naruto's legs. "I will make you a woman tonight." Mizuki said with an evil smile. His expression changed when he looked into Naruto's eyes. "What the hell are you?"

Just as he sat up as he saw that Naruto's pupils were now red and were slits instead of round. The door suddenly crashed open and three men, and two Hyuuga, a boy and a woman entered the room. Mizuki held his arms up in surrender. He could feel the killing intent coming off of girl before him and the boy. Both were emanating an evil killing intent. Both had slits for irises. The girls eyes had turned back to blue but had not become round again. "You both are monsters!" Mizuki said as he was quickly silenced by a sword to the throat held by Ichiro.

"You call my daughter a monster?" Ichiro asked angrily. Mizuki did not move as Hinata cut Naruto free. "I only see one monster here. He was about to defile my daughter and ruin her wedding night and possibly her life. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Mizuki smiled. "Another minute and you would have been my father."

"Sorry doesn't work that way with the Uzumaki. You would have been held killed in a few months, if there was a child we would wait and keep you as a slave until your child was old enough to kill you for hurting them and the mother. Also the other party of the betrothal would have a say in how in you died as you hurt them too. As of now all your belongings are forfeit as is your freedom. More than likely so is your life." Ichiro said as he pressed the blade harder against Mizuki's throat causing a small red line to appear on his throat.

Naruto was finally cut free as Hinata wrapped him up in his night kimono and took him out of the room. The killing intent followed the two children out of the room and down the hall.

"You have a couple of monsters there. Do you know that?" Mizuki said angrily.

"They are good children, they are meant for each other. And you are the monster. Now put some pants on him and bind his hands. We are going to see my father and a certain someone." Ichiro smiled as the ANBU put pants on Mizuki. "Did you know that he was a student of Ibiki? And he does so enjoy his work."

A look of fear crossed Mizuki's face as he we dragged out of the room. He screamed all the way to the leader's tower. A messenger hawk was sent to the Hokage soon after he arrived in the tower.

Naruto made all the way home before he lost control of his anger. Naruto walked into the dojo and lost control of his henge and his chakra spiked blowing open his kimono. Soon he was surrounded by red chakra. Hinata seeing this dropped her henge and then walked up to him and embraced him. 'Yes I know. He hurt us. He hurt us badly. For this he will pay.' Hinata thought as a second spike of chakra was felt as Hinata's chakra spiked and she was then surrounded by a lighter red chakra. They both screamed out their anger in unison. Hana watched with a sad expression. She was ready to walk down to the tower and kill Mizuki on the spot. After a minute both children collapsed in each other's arms.

Mizuki felt the chakra spikes and just knew it was the Kyuubi. 'This village is full of monsters. First that teacher, Nori. Now the Uzumaki kid… wait, Uzumaki kid. That has to be that Naruto brat who left the village several years ago. But how can that be? I am sure Akemi was a girl. The Hokage, the council and Orochimaru need to know this. I have to get out of here.'

"You will be going nowhere Mizuki-san. So you are in league with the rogue Sannin?" A voice from behind Mizuki said happily.

"What are you talking about? Why would you say that?" Mizuki said in a somewhat frightened voice.

"Well you see, I have a genjutsu that forces you to speak your thoughts and in return you are the only one not to know that you're talking instead of thinking. So all of your thoughts are now mine. So you think that Akemi-sama is the Kyuubi? Why do you think that? Please do tell, as I am quite interested." A large man said as he came in front of Mizuki. "Please continue Mizuki-san as I am all ears."

In an adjoining room, Takashi and Ichiro could hear Mizuki scream. "You know Ryou enjoys his job too much. I think he is even more devious than Ibiki. So what do we do with him? I will not allow him to go back to Konoha with this information dad. He also wanted to rape Naruto. I know Naruto was just in female form. But I think that it would have been bad for him anyways." Ichiro said with a voice between sadness and anger. "If I have too, I will kill him during transport. Given enough time he will be able to piece the puzzle together."

"I know son. This is the second time he has assaulted Naruto. He tried to defile my grandchild. Whether he was in female form or not, he wanted to get into this family and hurt it. I will ask the council for the death penalty. I am sure that Iwa will back me up on this. The Tsuchikage knows that Naruto and Hinata use a special henge as he has seen it and he also had them demonstrate it." Takashi said as he raised a hand to stop Ichiro from asking a single question. "No I did not let them explain it. I told the Tsuchikage that it was a family jutsu and required special training to perform, and also a seal. He dropped it when I mentioned a seal." Both men chuckled at the deception.

Under Ryou's polite persuasion Mizuki revealed that he had been spying for Orochimaru and was going to speak to him about Naruto possibly being in Whirlpool. He also had his eye on Keiko and Ari as other girls he was going to abduct and more than likely take to Orochimaru.

The next morning Naruto and Hinata awoke to find that Naruto was not wearing any clothes and Hinata was only wearing undergarments. They also could not shake the dream they had after they had collapsed in the dojo. They embraced and didn't wanting to let go.

(Dream flashback)…

Naruto and Hinata relived that night's events through the other's eyes. After they got to where they collapsed, they awoke lying on the blanket in the field of their minds. The fox that they had played with over the years approached them.

"Are we going to play tonight Kitsune?" Hinata asked.

The fox sat and shook its head. Naruto look disturbed as he was still not recovered from the nights ordeal. "**I am here to talk to both of you kits.**" The kitsune said.

This shocked both Naruto and Hinata as this voice was the same one that they would occasionally hear in their heads. "You… You…" Naruto stuttered out.

"**Yes kit I am the Kyuubi.**" The fox said as it became as big as a wolf and gained nine tails.

"Are you going to kill us now? Because we will fight you if we have too." Naruto yelled acting more confident than he felt. Then a question came to him. "If you have played with us all these years why would you try to kill us?"

The Kyuubi just chuckled. "**Brash and impulsive as ever kit? I know that this night shook you almost as much as when you both left Konoha. I am your guardian of sorts. For both of you, but in that vein you are also my guardian.**"

"How so Kyuubi-san?" Hinata asked.

"**I knew he picked his mate well when he chose you.**" The Kyuubi grinned at the children. "**I told the adults that I would talk to you when I thought you were ready. And I think you are ready now.**"

"What do you mean ready, fox?" Naruto asked confused.

"**You are destined to be together for one.**" Kyuubi said with a smile. "**Also if one of you dies we all die. This is the price we pay for the seal. I give you assistance you keep me around. There is a price for this help though. You must help me kill a man. I will let you know when you are strong enough. Do we have a deal?**"

Naruto looked at Hinata and then at the fox. "Why did you attack Konoha?"

"**I was summoned by the man I want you to kill and ordered to attack. I had no choice. I ask your forgiveness for the deaths I caused.**" Kyuubi said with sadness as it bowed its head.

Naruto looked at Hinata and they both nodded "We forgive you Kyuubi." They said as one.

The Kyuubi moved onto the blanket and again sat. "**You know that we foxes are tricksters, don't you?**" Kyuubi asked with a smirk or at least as close as a fox can have.

The children nodded. The Kyuubi transformed again into a beautiful redheaded woman her arms crossed covering her nipples. She appeared to be around eighteen years old and sat in the lotus position. Naruto's eyes bulged as Hinata blushed. "**What?**" Kyuubi asked as she pointed to the children. Naruto was lying back with his arms behind him holding his torso up and his legs spread. Hinata was kneeling. Both looked at each other and then saw that they too were completely nude. "**Naruto-kun you show more than I do.**"

This caused Naruto to blush and pull his legs to his chest. Hinata shifted a little but other than that she only blushed. The Kyuubi was a girl and Naruto had seen her enough times over the last couple years nude that she was comfortable with him seeing her this way. "Naruto-kun…" Hinata shifted closer to Naruto and put her hand on his shoulder.

"**Easy kit, what you see I see. So I know every inch of your bodies, both of you. How do you think you can have shared dreams? I can see through your eyes. I feel your pain. I am part of you and you are part of me. We are three but we are one.**" Kyuubi opened her arms showing her breasts this caused Naruto to blush again. "**Yes I am female, but so is your mate. But now you have insight upon what it is to be female Naruto-kun. You can take on the form of a female. For this I salute your strength.**"

"What do you mean Kyuubi-san?" Naruto asked.

"**You can change and I mean actually change into a female. Thanks to your mate you know what it is like to be female. She also knows what it is like to be male. But that not what we are here for. Naruto-kun you need to deal with what happened. Hinata-chan and I are here for you.**" Kyuubi shifted out of her position and crawled to Naruto. She put one arm around Naruto and the other around Hinata. She then pulled them together and wrapped her tails around all three of them. "**You are my kits now. I will do all I can to protect you. Know that my kits. In here we hide nothing. That is the reason why we have no clothing.**"

"Thank you Kyuubi-chan." Naruto said as he relaxed in the embrace of the two women.

(End dream flashback)…

Kido and Hana watched Naruto and Hinata from the door as they just laid there and held each other. The Saturday routine was off and it was okay. Naruto needed time to recover from the attack and Hinata needed to help him. Keiko arrived near noon and Naruto and Hinata had still not gotten out of bed, they had even gone back to sleep and didn't wake until around one in the afternoon. Keiko was in the dojo training as Naruto and Hinata got out of bed. They realized what time it was and went into the bathroom together hoping to save time. They found that showering was a little different with two people than with one.

They ended up taking a lot longer than they normally would. Naruto required a delicate hand as he would run between arousal at seeing Hinata's nude form and revulsion at himself for what he was thinking. They did a lot of talking at they cleaned themselves and each other. Hana came in worried that something was wrong. There was, Naruto was an emotional wreck. He was fighting the idea that men were all just evil and only wanted women for one reason. Hinata had done everything short of intimate contact to try to convince the man she loved that he and most men were not like that.

Hinata had finally had enough and whispered a couple questions to Hana who nodded. "Naruto Uzumaki!" Hinata declared strongly standing completely nude in front of him.

Naruto began to look up then looked down again.

"Naruto-kun, look at me." Hinata said lovingly as she kneeled down to be at eye level with him. He did not lift his head. She gently lifted his head to look her in the eyes. "Naruto Uzumaki, why do you not want to look at me?" She saw turmoil in his eyes. "I am here I am not going to go anywhere my love."

His eyes stopped darting around and looked directly into her eyes. "I'm afraid I am like him!"

Hinata kissed him passionately. When their lips parted she asked, "Would you tie me to the bed if I didn't want you too?"

"No, of course not!" Naruto yelled.

"Would you hit me if I said 'No' to you?" Hinata asked.

"No…" Naruto said as his shoulder slumped.

"Then what makes you think that you would be like 'him'?" Hinata looked him in the eyes.

"Because I am a guy, and when I look at you I feel…" Naruto turned his head and trailed off.

"Excited, and aroused?" Hinata turned his head back so that he was looking her in the eyes. "Good I would not have it any other way. I want my husband-to-be to desire me. I want you as much as you want me. The problem now is that we are too young for fulfilling those desires as of yet."

"There is nothing wrong Naruto-kun with you. Your desire for Hinata-chan is a good thing. It is natural. What you experienced was not such and you just need to file it away as such so that you can keep yourself from it happening again." Hana said as she rubbed Naruto's back.

"Naruto-kun, we are worried about you. We are so worried that Hinata-chan is willing to have the wedding now and have your honeymoon tonight, just to show you that you are not what you fear." Hana said lovingly.

Naruto looked from Hana to Hinata and back again. They both nodded. "If that is what it takes Naruto-kun, let us be married today and throw away your fears. I will do it for you. I wanted to wait but you mean too much too me to have you think you are bad or evil." Hinata said as she stood Naruto up and embraced him. She smiled as he rose to the occasion. "That is what I was hoping for." Hinata whispered to Naruto. "Do we wait or do you need more encouragement my love?"

Naruto not knowing what to do merely hugged her harder, not wanting to let go. His mind wandered as Hinata saw visions of them in bed together. "Oh, Naruto-kun, I would love too." Hinata said with a giggle.

"Damn it Kyuubi-chan…" Naruto said as he collapsed.

--

A/N: Sorry for the delay my betas were delayed in checking this chapter, thanks for your patience. Ha to those of you will annoy me with the comment of too much crying. Naruto has yet to cry. :p…

This will have repercussion in later chapters, some bad some good. Naruto is really confused and hurt. He will start coping in the next chapter. Mizuki will get his just rewards. There will also be some new faces in Uzu next chapter look for them… And yes another cliffhanger, but the next chapter shall be fun. Also chapter 14 should be up on or before Friday.

Paladeus: The order for kill on sight was handed down by the Konoha Hyuuga clan council without authorization of Hiashi. They considered Hinata weak and not a worthy heir so best she be eliminated rather than reappear and cause more problems. This makes it so that Sasuke will not be able to lead the Hyuuga. The do not know that she will become very powerful. Her nature does not help in their eyes. She is a healer not a true fighter. That is weakness for the Konoha Hyuuga, I hope this answered your question.

Dragon180: Mizuki will see his just rewards next chapter.

Druwin: You are correct that the Konoha council overrode the Hokage and sent Mizuki instead of Iruka.

Darksnider05: Sorry for being so vague but if I wasn't I would given away the plot for the chapter. But


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I claim nothing other than the fun I am having writing this story. I enjoy the characters that Kishimoto created, but like my storyline better.

Sorry about not getting it out on Friday but had a brainstorm and had to fix the interaction with Takashi and a member of the Konoha council. This chapter deals with Naruto starting to heal. And of course the much waited for death of Mizuki. There will be some familiar characters so enjoy the chapter. Oh by the way they are 12 and will be graduating the academy this chapter. I inserted some time skips in last chapter. I guess some of you missed that. Sorry about the confusion. More notes at the end as usual. Now enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 14 – More Konoha troubles…

"Damn it Kyuubi-chan!" Naruto said as he collapsed.

Hinata caught Naruto and kept him from falling down with the help of Hana. "Obaasan, Kyuubi-chan was sharing Naruto-kun's thoughts with me. I think it was a little too much for him."

"Come child let us get him back into bed. He still apparently needs his rest. The trauma must have been just too great. Let's get him dried off and back to bed. I would ask you to give him time to figure out how to deal with what happened. All you need to know is that he loves you as much as you love him." Hana said kindly to Hinata.

"But Obaasan, I experienced the exact same thing Naruto-kun did." Hinata said sadly.

"Hinata-chan, you did not experience the exact same thing he did." Hana said.

"What do you mean? Because of Kyuubi-chan I felt all of his emotions saw and saw everything that he saw?" Hinata asked.

"But you knew that everything would work out when she showed it to you. He did not. That is the difference child." Hana replied.

"I am sorry Obaasan." She then looked sadly at Naruto. "I am so sorry Naruto-kun."

"It's okay Hinata-chan, I love you." Naruto whispered while still unconscious.

Hinata smiled weakly as they dragged Naruto to their room.

"Couldn't wait for the wedding could we?" Keiko's voice came from in front of them.

Hinata got very mad. "No Naruto-kun collapsed in the shower."

Keiko moved quickly as she noticed that Naruto was still dripping wet and was actually being dragged by both the other females. "Here let me help Hana-sama." Keiko said as she moved and took Hana's position. She helped take Naruto to his and Hinata's room. She then helped Hinata carefully set him down on the bed and dry him off. "I see now what we were missing from the henge. Now let's get him decent." Keiko said with a smirk.

Hinata slipped a pair of boxer on Naruto and pulled the covers up on him. Hinata then dried herself off. She then dressed, lay down and snuggled up to Naruto.

"Something happened? Didn't it?" Keiko asked as she stoked Naruto's hair. "It was Mizuki-sensei wasn't it?"

Hinata only nodded as a response.

"He really messed Naruto-kun up didn't he? I hope he gets what is coming too him." Keiko said angrily.

"He is up on multiple counts of assault, kidnapping and attempted rape." Hana said.

"Rape? He was going to rape Naruto? I didn't know he swung that way." Keiko said jokingly.

"Mizuki wanted gain power through the Uzumaki clan. He figured he could attain that through Akemi-chan. He didn't know that only the Hyuuga clan honor that tradition in this village. And even then they only honor it in the case of mutual consent, unlike Konoha and several other villages." Hana said as she shook her head.

The three women took turns for the rest of the day watching over Naruto. Naruto eventually woke up around dinner time still being very tired and worried that he might have fallen asleep in the shower. Hinata was able to reassure him that he was actually in bed. He felt strong enough to go to the dining room to eat dinner, but needed help getting back to the bedroom.

While Naruto enjoyed, as best as he could, the attention he was getting. Mizuki was visited by several people over the course of that day. One visitor was Nori the academy teacher. She had left Mizuki asking for death that very night. A surprise visitor was Kurenai who was on a mission and in the area. She added to the torture of the miserable man, she cast a genjutsu of his worst fears that lasted for hours. Kurenai then visited the Hyuuga house and said she would return in the morning to check up on Naruto and Hinata.

That night Naruto, Hinata and Kyuubi spent the entire night and worked on Naruto's sanity. They talked till Naruto had no more to say. The Kyuubi eventually found that Naruto loved to learn jutsu. So as a way to help him through the pain and keep his mind occupied, they worked on demonic version of the body flicker. Naruto was only able to go small distances but it made him happier, Hinata also learned this jutsu during the night. Kyuubi informed them that this would only be a family jutsu as only they and their children would have access to demonic chakra. The only exception to this would be another container who had access to demonic chakra. This jutsu only required a little demonic chakra but a good amount of regular chakra. Naruto before the end of the night had figured out that the more demonic chakra he used the less normal chakra that was required.

Naruto woke up the next day in a better mood and was even able to take a shower and bathe with Hinata and not be too upset. He did apologize every time he looked at her and got excited. She would giggle and kiss him gently on the cheek. "That is fine Naruto-kun we can wait until we are ready. You have nothing to be ashamed about. I love you." Hinata said lovingly.

The rest of the day went by almost normally. Ichiro stated that the next day at the academy would show if he was actually recovered from the attack.

Naruto snuggled closer to Hinata than usual that night and would not let her go during that nights training with the Kyuubi. While she enjoyed the extra attention she was worried about Naruto. He woke up in a melancholy mood, very much not himself. They showered and ate breakfast. Naruto chose a blond female for his henge this day as they left for the academy.

Naruto being out of sorts missed the usual clues that Taree was after him. Naruto had just dropped his henge when he got on the academy grounds. Taree had run into him knocking him over. He was laid out spread eagle with her crawling up between his legs. Naruto was frozen in fear as Taree looked at him hungrily as she crawled. Naruto eyes flashed red as Hinata kicked Taree away from Naruto. Naruto immediately grabbed Hinata's arms she then pulled him up. He was breathing heavily and shaking badly. Hinata just hugged him while trying to reassure him that everything was going to be alright.

Taree went to attack Hinata but was stopped by Keiko. "Leave Akemi-kun alone, he is not feeling well. And if you don't leave him alone you will have to deal with me." Keiko said in a low threatening voice.

"You will also have to deal with me." Nori said from behind Taree startling nearly everyone. "Akemi-kun is to be left alone for the rest of the week am I understood." All the students nodded understanding. "Now let's get to class." She said with a smile.

The rest of the week went fairly smoothly until the announcement of charges against a Konoha shinobi. Naruto used his blond female form all week. On graduation day he used his redhead form. There were several visitors over the week. A busty blond and petite raven haired woman came to the village and wanted to meet with the Senju family. An older gentleman also arrived in Uzu. He was missing his right arm also having a bandaged head and wanted to talk to the Uzumaki and Mizuki.

Naruto was quiet in school up to and including the day of the exam. Taree complained to Akemi that he should drop the henge or she would do something. Naruto blew up at her. "Do something! Do something! What are you going to do? Just stay away from me!" He created ten shadow clones and they ran all ran away. Hinata saw this created ten of her own clones and sent them after the Naruto clones, while she followed the original. Ari immediately slammed Taree to the ground and proceeded to shock her with a weak lightning jutsu.

Hinata found Naruto several blocks away at the Uzumaki clan compound hiding behind a weapons rack. Hinata snuggled up to him and just sat with him not saying anything. She knew he hurt and hurt a lot, and still needed some more time to heal. She worked with Kyuubi and Hana that night to help Naruto. Naruto was depressed, most people wouldn't have known it but his being quiet unless he was pulling a prank or plotting something was not like him. Right now he was just going through the motions.

Graduation came quietly. The whole class passed the initial tests. Ari had gotten the best score totals. Naruto had amazingly achieved second standing, while Hinata achieved third and while Keiko achieved fourth. All the teams were assigned jonin sensei. Naruto, Hinata and Keiko were put on the same team under Kikiyo. Taree was on a team of Akemi fan girls who were mad that he had taken to his female henge all week and most of all none of them were on Akemi's team.

The blond who came to town turned out to be Tsunade Senju legendary Sannin and the raven haired woman Shizune her assistant. The bandaged man was Danzou a member of the Konoha village council. Both were present for graduation. Naruto continued to use redhead form for team assignment day.

Danzou had made a mistake of commenting on how Uzu put the teams together. A group full of females and most of the others only had one male. He also complained about not balancing the teams. All his complaints were said while talking to a certain older redhead, Takashi Uzumaki.

"We did have a lot of females graduate this year and they did make up the bulk of the class. We only had four males total in a class of eighteen. So, you think that Uzu is wrong sir." Takashi said questioningly.

"Yes I do, they should follow the Konoha model. We have the best shinobi in the land because of our teaching and the way we do things. It would be even better if the shinobi could kill their emotions." Danzou said with a smile.

"Oh you really think so? So a shinobi should be mindless killing machine? So if you are ordered one to kill a person and a civilian were to witnesses this they should be killed too?" Takashi asked.

"Yes, they should not have been there in the first place. Shinobi are tools and as such should be used that way." Danzou said arrogantly.

"So you believe in the Kiri way then?" Takashi said with a smile.

"No, killing off a whole class just to get one student is a waste of resources." Danzou replied.

"So if you don't like how things are done here answer me this. What are you doing here?" Takashi asked.

"I am here to see a man who has not returned as ordered. He appears to have been accosted by the locals somewhere. Would you happen to know where I could find Takashi Uzumaki and Mizuki Touji?" Danzou asked.

"Well if you are looking for Mizuki, he is under arrest for assault and attempted rape, and a few other charges. And as for Takashi Uzumaki you are speaking to him. You must be Danzou. The Professor said you were coming. Can't say that I like you very much, my guess is that you are here to make sure that Mizuki does not reveal any secrets." Takashi said.

"That is correct." Danzou replied.

"Well he was caught in the act and has already confessed. Boy did he sing like a bird. And now he is to await trial. My grandchild is one of the victims so I will not be presiding over the case. Several of the other clan heads will. You might want to know that he was working for Orochimaru. But we can talk about this at the trial. Oh by the way have you met the Tsuchikage?" Takashi said with a large smile.

Danzou got to meet with both Takashi and the Tsuchikage. The meeting did not go well. Danzou was not diplomatic about anything and insulted the Tsuchikage several times. This nearly cost Konoha the good will of both Iwa and Uzu. Takashi informed Danzou that he would not be able to visit with Mizuki as the man was a danger and did not want to endanger Danzou. This was of course a lie, as Takashi did not want Danzou and Mizuki talking.

The trial went fairly quickly, Mizuki tried to use a plea of not knowing the laws. This caused even more problems for him as the judges all scowled at him. It was brought up that the Hokage had told him not to break any of the local laws and to study them when he arrived. Mizuki then accused several people in the village were monsters especially Akemi Uzumaki (Naruto) and Nori. Naruto had earlier sought the help of Kurenai and created a genjutsu that did not require any hand signs that make his eyes appear to become red and the pupils to have slits.

Mizuki was given a death sentence and then handed over to the families for punishment. A Hyuuga member performed the Eight Trigrams-Sixty-four palms attack on Mizuki to disable him after that an Uzumaki clan member used a little known kenjutsu technique that the person would hit the target a thousand times then beheaded the person. Mizuki had to wait five minutes before the death blow was struck as he was continuously hit and had to wait for the finishing blow to come. His body was then burned.

Later that day Danzou had met with Tsunade but the meeting went very badly as Danzou had expected Tsunade to show him respect, she had shown him none. Danzou eventually got himself kicked out of Uzu within a week for insulting too many clans for not having forward enough thinking like Konoha so far as the Akemi incident. All the clans knew about Akemi and Takara's betrothal and were happy for them so with Danzou trying to explain what Mizuki did might not have been a bad idea, it got him thoroughly despised. Konoha was getting a bad name because of people like Kodai, Mizuki and especially Danzou who either were hurting people they were supposed to be allied with or were disrespecting Uzu's culture. There were exceptions to this of course Kurenai, Tsunade and Shizune were those exceptions. Sarutobi was held in high regard as it appeared that the Konoha council was fighting him on every decision.

Tsunade at first questioned the Senju of their legitimacy as the Namikaze were the last of the living relatives other than Tsunade herself. Keiko was able to prove the relations quite easily when she was able to grow a small tree only using chakra. It was only three feet tall and Keiko was totally drained, but it was proof. Takashi revealed Akemi as Naruto son of Minato and cousin of Keiko to Tsunade. Tsunade was happy to see him alive but also was very mad after hearing how Konoha had treated him, heck how they had treated all of Naruto's genin team. She reaffirmed that she would not reveal any of the information she learned to anyone other than Sarutobi and some of it not even to him. She also agreed to come by and teach Hinata occasionally as she would be a relative. She also agreed to do teach some medical classes occasionally in Uzu for compensation.

Keiko, Hinata, Naruto, and Kikiyo started their missions. Kikiyo explained the purpose of each mission they went on so that the team and especially Naruto understood why they were doing 'boring' 'D' ranked missions. The main reason was to improve skills in the safe environment of the village or close outlying areas. The capture of the Whirlpool Lord's dog was for learning search and retrieval skills. The garbage pickup was a general purpose mission that would put several of the skills learned but not always the same ones. Painting turned out to be one of the team's favorite missions, they would work on using their water affinity to paint, and this gave them some rather unusual results. The team learned to despise babysitting, it was the worst job but it taught them how to protect a client, especially an unruly ones.

Weeding was fairly easy for both Naruto and Hinata as they both liked gardening and had gardens of their own so they had an easy time recognizing good herbs and plants while removing the unwanted ones. This also helped Keiko as she learned that her team could teach her things, and she could return that help by helping Naruto through his pain.

After a couple months of missions the team had finally worked on their specialties, Hinata medicine, Naruto swords, and Keiko protection. Naruto became the frontline fighter in training, he would use of clones, jutsu and swords this made for a deadly combination. Naruto's nose also helped him become the tracker for the team. Hinata was the medic, backup close fighter and the eyes for the team. Keiko became the ranged fighter and ears for the team.

Ari Gogyou, Daichi Uzumaki, Emi Hyuuga were on Ichiro's team. Both teams got along well. All of the team acted like siblings for Naruto and Hinata. Daichi was Takashi's grandnephew, making him a distant cousin to Naruto. Taree's team did not make the initial cut and they went back to the academy for more training. Only one other team made the cut out of the six original teams.

During this time Kurenai had brought her genin team to Uzu for a visit. Kiba seemed to like Naruto (Akemi-chan), a little too much for Naruto and Hinata's tastes, but did not like Takara-kun, but was perplexed as to why they both smelled of kitsune. Shino and Keiko gained a healthy respect for each other. They agreed that bugs and wood did not mix but could still be friends. A female branch member of the Hyuuga, Youko, rounded out Kurenai's team. She liked Takara-kun but was saddened that he was betrothed to Akemi. Both teams worked on their scouting skills together for a week as Kurenai's team was between assignments.

Kurenai commented that she liked the redhead look to Akemi, Naruto just laughed. It started to annoy Naruto that Kiba kept on showing up everywhere that Naruto was when they were not training. Naruto eventually got fed up with this behavior and asked Kiba a simple question. "You do know that I am betrothed, right?" Naruto asked Kiba.

"Really? That doesn't matter to me. You can come back with me to Konoha and we could enjoy a life together." Kiba said with a stupid smirk on his face.

Naruto looked almost ready to puke. 'He really doesn't have a clue.' "I am to be married and am happy about it. So why would I want to leave that and go with you to Konoha?" Naruto asked.

"Well I'm strong. You are gorgeous and your family is powerful here in the Whirlpool. It would help our villages come closer together." Kiba smiled as he responded.

"Sorry, I love Takara-kun. I can't say that about you. I barely know you. And you smell of dog. No offense Akamaru." Naruto said as Akamaru barked and wagged his tail. "Also the betrothal has been in effect for a long time and we are happy with it. So you can take your offer and shove it."

"Huh?" Kiba replied with a confused look on his face.

"If you are after power than you should not seek it from me. If you want to learn about love then find another girl. I am not interested." Naruto finally said.

Kiba looked flattened. "But why? You would make a great woman for me…"

Naruto shook his head. 'For more reasons that you can even think about, hell I am a guy and you chasing me is just gross.' "As I said I am really happy with the way things are. And I love the one to whom I am going to marry. I also have problems with Konoha, and I do not want to talk about it." Naruto face turned to saddened anger.

"Did something happen to you in Konoha?" Kiba asked concerned.

"Drop it dog boy." Keiko said sternly. "Come on Akemi-chan, your fiancé would like to see you."

"But…" Kiba protested.

"I said drop it dog boy!" Keiko yelled angrily as she took Naruto's hand and walked back to the Uzumaki clan compound.

"Thanks Keiko-chan…" Naruto said drained.

"Any time, I was getting tired of his pushiness. Also he seemed to only want power. Not a good thing. Takara-kun has a surprise for you…" Keiko said teasingly.

This brought a smile to Naruto's face. "What is it?"

"I can't tell you. You will just have to find out for yourself." Keiko said with a grin as they entered the Uzumaki dojo. Hinata in her male form was kneeling in a meditation pose as Naruto and Keiko approached.

"Hello, Akemi-chan and Keiko-chan. I am sorry you had a hard time with the Inuzuka boy." Hinata said smiling as she opened her eyes. She smiled and brought a long thin box from behind her. "This is for you my love."

Naruto walked up and kneeled down, as he took the box. "What is it?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Hinata giggled and smiled. "Open it and find out silly."

Naruto quickly untied the bow and tore the wrapping paper away. "So un-lady like Akemi-chan." Hinata teased. This elicited a scowl from Naruto who opened the lid to the box. Inside was a katana with a fox head on the hilt and a fox scrolled on the sheaf. "Do you like it?"

Naruto eyes bulged as he saw the sword. Naruto set the sword back down in the box and then tackled Hinata. "Yes I love it!"

"Give her a sword and she will love you. That was too easy." Kiba said from the background.

"You were not invited, why are you here?" Hinata asked coldly.

"I wanted to see the guy Akemi-chan liked so much. I am not impressed." Kiba said sourly.

"You met me before in training. So now you find me unworthy of Akemi-chan and thus want to take her away from me?" Hinata said playing along with the game.

"Let's fight and see who's more worthy of Akemi-chan's affection." Kiba said as he nodded and got down into a taijutsu attack stance.

Naruto started to laugh hard. 'Hinata-hime he hasn't a clue what he is in for even if he wins does he?'

'Not a clue my love, not a clue. So shall I fight for your honor Naruto-chan' Hinata thought to Naruto as she winked at him.

Naruto was confused for a second then started to laugh again. 'Don't hurt him too much or we might get in trouble with Kurenai obasan, Hinata-kun.'

Only Keiko understood what was going on between the two as Kiba just looked at Hinata waiting for an answer.

"I accept your challenge Kiba-kun. But I do not fight for Akemi-chan's hand as I already have that and her heart." Hinata said as she stood and moved into her juken stance.

Naruto grabbed his new sword box, wrapping paper and bow and left the fighting area to the two combatants. Naruto saw his uncle entered the dojo with Kurenai. "Hey dad, that Kiba kid started a fight over me with Takara-kun."

This caused Ichiro and Kurenai to both start laughing. Shino and Youko Hyuuga from Kurenai's team arrived and asked what was going on.

"The boys are fighting over me." Naruto said as he rolled his eyes.

"I do not see what is so funny about it." Shino commented.

"Kiba challenged Takara-kun to a fight. He does not seem to understand that there is no way he and Akemi-chan would ever work. She is taken, heart, soul, and betrothal." Ichiro said with a laugh.

Kiba launched an attack at Hinata but she easily avoided it by dodging to her right. She then tapped Kiba on the left shoulder which immediately dropped. "Hey what did you do too me. That really hurt." Kiba complained.

"I am a Hyuuga and a medic. So I do not attack for injury, I disable your chakra network and nervous system. Do you wish to continue?" Hinata said quietly.

"Yea I won't be out done by some stuck up Hyuuga. I will have Akemi-chan." Kiba said as Naruto's temper rose from his comment.

"No one owns Akemi-chan!" Hinata yelled as she shifted her stance. "You are within range. Eight trigrams thirty-two palms." Hinata struck him quickly and successively, Kiba fell to the floor in pain.

"That is similar but only half the strength of the main Hyuuga jutsu. That version is only used for disabling an opponent. Few genin can master that one let alone the Sixty-four palms." The Youko Hyuuga commented in awe.

Hinata immediately kneeled beside Kiba and started to heal him. "I am sorry Kiba-kun but you did not know what you were up against. I am familiar with what the Inuzuka are capable of. You are good for a genin but not good enough just yet. Also I love Akemi-chan and would do anything for her and if that means beating you then so be it." Hinata said as she smiled at Naruto. 'There are also things he just wouldn't understand.'

Kiba winced in pain as he smiled at Naruto. "This isn't over I will win you over."

Naruto just shook his head. As Hinata continued to heal all the nerve clusters she had disabled.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, next chapter on to the wave country. Yes I know it is cannon, but I found a way to put in a twist or two. And for you guys who keep on complaining about chapter length it has increased from 1k-2k to between 3k and 4k+ per chapter. So :P I also will more than likely to revisit the earlier chapters and might lengthen them. But not at least for a few more chapters. I did borrow some of the explanations on the reason for the missions from the author of chunin exams.

Whirlpool is located near Waterfall and is east of that country. It does border with Waterfall and Rice Field countries. There will be some border disputes between Oto (sound) and Uzu. Also there will be little love lost between the two villages. If you are wondering the chunin exams are a ways off. Naruto and Hinata will be participating.

Naruto and Hinata are stronger than in cannon because they had teachers and family interested in their growth and development. As of now Naruto will only have one regular sword and one training sword, both he can push chakra into to strengthen them. Naruto does use weights and seals for training purposes but will not be as strong or fast as Rock Lee.

I hope you enjoyed Mizuki's death, I did. We will also get to see Sasuke and team seven in the next chapter. Thanks for reading.

Jutsu:

Eight Trigrams Thirty-two palms – This is a toned down version of the regular attack that we see Neji use in cannon. This attack is for disabling the opponent and not fully disabling their chakra. Also it is quicker than the Sixty-four palms and nearly as effective as both as both attacks will hurt an opponent. Hinata uses this attack because Sixty-four palms can kill an opponent as it will nearly shut down their chakra network. Hinata being a medic and who she is would prefer to disable rather than kill an opponent.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I own this storyline (but this statement was borrowed from another author, I forget who.)

There was a question on Kiba being able to detect Naruto in his female form. The advanced 'Henge' transforms Naruto and Hinata into the opposite sex, fully functional, with all the advantages and disadvantages. So Kiba, Akamaru or even Shino's insects would not be able to tell they were actually male in Naruto's case and female in Hinata's case, they are detected as female (Naruto/Akemi), and male (Hinata/Takara).

Chapter 15 – On to the Wave country…

Naruto found one thing that he really hated being a girl for extended periods of the time, was having a period. He could understand it but he did not like it as he could not predict when it would happen as he changed every so often depending on the mission. Hinata and Keiko would help him with this problem. The good thing was that Naruto had finally overcome the whole Mizuki thing, at least he hoped so.

The 'D' ranked missions flew by and Kikiyo figured they were ready for a 'C' ranked mission. The mission they were given was to make sure that a man got from Konoha to the wave country alive. The man who pulled the contract said that there would be bandits for sure but was not sure if there would be anything else, he paid for an 'A' rank mission if needed.

The team headed out with their new employer going to get to Tazuna the bridge builder in Konoha. The trip to Konoha was fairly uneventful. They met a couple Kumo nin. Naruto and Hinata growled at them as the groups passed each other. Keiko and Kikiyo just chuckled at it. They reached the gates of Konoha and found that Tazuna had already left the village with a Konoha team. The team left from Konoha and headed towards the Wave country as fast as they could. They met up with the Konoha team later in the evening.

Kakashi was worried as he felt the chakra signatures headed towards his team. "Get ready there are more shinobi headed this way. I think I may know them but still be prepared." Kakashi told his group.

Sasuke just nodded as Sakura and Ino yelled, "Okay sensei!"

Kakashi just shook his head. Two loud mouths and stuck up Uchiha. 'Why did the council force me to take them on as students? Sasuke does have potential as do the other two. They could work great as a team but they do not have what it takes to make good shinobi right just yet.'

A redheaded female entered the clearing. She had her hand on her sword and was scanning the clearing. She then smiled and waved at Kakashi and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. 'Naruto?' Kakashi thought.

"Okay you guys can stand down she was from the whirlpool an ally." Kakashi said as he came out into the clearing. Sasuke was smiling as he left the bushes this caused Sakura to frown and Ino to look confused.

The girl that had appeared before walked into the clearing and bowed to Kakashi. "Kakashi-san, I assume that this is your team. I am Akemi Uzumaki and was looking for Tazuna the bridge builder. We were sent from Whirlpool to help with guarding him. The rest of my team will be here momentarily. We are under the direction of our jonin sensei Kikiyo Fenikkusu. It is a pleasure to meet you again. Oh, by the way do you have that present you promised me?" Naruto asked with a big smile. Kakashi put his head in his hand and shook his head. Sasuke eyed Naruto and smiled. This caused Sakura and Ino to become very angry.

'Why do all the guys from Konoha like me Hinata-chan?' Naruto asked Hinata.

'I don't know Naruto-kun maybe you just made your henge too cute.' Hinata replied with a chuckle.

A couple minutes later Kikiyo, Hinata in male form and Keiko entered the clearing.

"Who are these losers Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked but kept a watchful eye on Naruto.

The person who came with Naruto and his group entered the clearing just as Tazuna did.

"Tazuna, Kaiba worried about you and sent me to find help for you if you left the wave." He said smiling to Tazuna.

"Ran, Kaiba is dead. Gato killed him." Tazuna said as he lowered his head.

"Kikiyo you understand this is going to be higher than a 'C' ranked mission don't you?" Kakashi asked.

"What do you mean Kakashi? We were told that it would be bandits at best." Kikiyo replied.

"We ran into a couple of mist ninjas the 'Demon Brothers'. My guess is that we are going to get a stronger opponent in our next encounter." Kakashi whispered into Kikiyo's ear.

"Great, we had a couple of chunin against a fresh genin team. The next one will more than likely be a jonin or two, against two genin teams. I don't know if your team is ready but mine is." Kikiyo whispered back.

"Looks like they know each other, do you think they are lovers?" Sakura asked Ino and blushed as she then looked at Sasuke.

Keiko, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke all roll their eyes.

"Okay kids let's set up camp tonight. We have two clients going to the same location. For Uzu Tazuna is first priority and Ran secondary. Takara stick to them like glue. Akemi you will have point. Keiko you are in back I will back up Takara. Okay setup camp." Kikiyo ordered.

The team broke out the supplies and tents and started to get the camp arranged. Naruto helped setup four tents then headed out to gather firewood. Sasuke had setup his own tent and then followed Naruto. Naruto noticed him following by his scent.

"You appear to be strong. And that is an unusual sword. Why do you also carry a practice sword and a real one?" Sasuke said as leaned against a tree slightly behind Naruto.

"Thank you for the compliment, and the sword was a gift from my husband-to-be. I carry a training sword also because my style is a dual sword style. And if you would kindly not try to look up my skirt I would be greatly appreciative. You wouldn't see anything anyways I wear shorts under my skirt. Who are you anyways?" Naruto turned and asked looking Sasuke right in the eyes.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto cringed at the name. "Heir to the Uchiha. You should be my bride, unless I can find that Hinata girl." Sasuke said as his voice trailed off. "If so then you could become my consort."

Naruto immediately recognized the name he had said. 'Hinata'. 'So he is the one who Fugaku fooled Hiashi into signing into a marriage contract. Well not going to happen. He is an arrogant prick. He is not right for her, he knows nothing about her. He doesn't love her. I do.'

'Thank you Naruto-kun. I love you too. So he is the one who we should watch out for. What should we do?' Hinata asked Naruto.

'I don't know. He wants you, but I am only guessing to this, to get away from his fan girl teammates. He offered me to be his wife, and if he could find you then I would be his consort. Nice guy wouldn't you say?' Naruto said to Hinata as he continued to pick up wood. Naruto could feel Hinata's anger rise. "Why would I want to become anything with you?" Naruto asked.

"I am strong and will continue to become stronger with my Sharingan." Sasuke said as he continued to follow Naruto.

'Well that cinches it. I am now officially a piece of meat to him.' Naruto thought, as Hinata and the fox laughed in his mind. "My fiancé has the Byakugan. He is sweet kind and cares for me not what status I would give him."

"You are also heir in your village right?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes…" Naruto answered wearily.

"Then we make a great match, you are beautiful strong. I can tell by the way you carry yourself." Sasuke said as he put a hand on a tree blocking Naruto's way.

"Beauty fades with time, strength fades with age and your welcome is fading faster than either. Now either pick up some wood and leave me alone or just leave me alone. Also if you do not stop I will report you to your sensei." Naruto said angrily.

"Kakashi? He can't do anything. The council will defend my actions."

"Which council? Clan, Konoha or Uzu?" Naruto questioned.

"Doesn't matter, I am the heir to the Uchiha." Sasuke answered arrogantly.

"So they might get a little annoyed if say Uzu and Iwa both said you had breached the alliance and sought retribution upon your clan and Konoha?" Naruto said as he walked back to camp. Naruto heard Kyuubi and Hinata both laughing in his mind.

Back in camp Hinata was in a tent with Kikiyo. "Sensei, Sasuke just made a pass at Naruto. I think Akemi-chan has gotten very annoyed with Konoha males."

"I can understand why. Given what happened with Mizuki-teme, and that Inuzuka kid." Kikiyo suddenly realized what Hinata was saying. "I will talk to Kakashi. This has to stop, or Akemi-chan is going to kill someone or we are going to have a near repeat of before. I will stand for neither." Kikiyo said as she left the tent. She noticed that Ino and Sakura were still working on their tents. 'What is Konoha teaching them? Setting up a camp should take less than a half hour, and tents no more than ten minutes.'

Kikiyo shook her head as she entered Kakashi's tent. "We need to talk and we need to do it now." Kikiyo said sternly to the copy ninja. Kikiyo ran through several hand signs. "Silence seal jutsu."

Kakashi looked around then nodded. "Okay what was so important that we needed to talk in private?"

"Your student is harassing mine." Kikiyo said annoyed.

"Hinata is betrothed to Sasuke after all so it is understandable." Kakashi said calmly.

"Sasuke is annoying Akemi, not Takara. And after what Mizuki did, Akemi is not happy with Konoha males." Kikiyo said as she angered.

"Well, then tell them to drop the henge. They will have too eventually." Kakashi said as if bored.

"You are an ass Kakashi you know that?" Kikiyo said as she barely controlled her anger.

"I have been told that." Kakashi turned and looked directly at Kikiyo. "Look they will eventually have to face the fact that they are not who they say they are. There is a contract for Hinata to marry Sasuke, do you deny that?"

"Who's side are you on? Certainly not your former sensei's. Fugaku falsified that contract. Also the first contract has precedence even if you do not acknowledge fact of what he did." Kikiyo said as she calmed down.

"What do you mean by bringing up my sensei?" Kakashi asked angrily.

"Have you ever looked at him?" Kikiyo replied.

"All I saw was a hyperactive blond that should not be a ninja." Kakashi said.

"You still don't get it do you?" Kikiyo asked as Kakashi shook his head. "Minato was Naruto's father. And if you still want to go down this path I am sure we can find ways to make your life miserable." Kikiyo said as she showed Kakashi an orange book. "Want to play rough? I can play rough. Also you blow Naruto and Hinata's cover and not even your Sharingan will be able to protect you. Sarutobi and Takashi agreed that Naruto has first say in the contracts. He has said he is going through it, and Hinata agrees. Now either rein in the Uchiha or I will."

"Okay but Hiashi knows something is going on." Kakashi said.

"Good maybe he will break the genjutsu and come to his senses. But until then we have a mission to complete. And if Sasuke bothers Akemi again both she and Takara will have my permission to permanently sterilize Sasuke. Do I make myself clear?"

Kakashi nodded as Kikiyo brought down the jutsu.

Kakashi and Kikiyo walked out of the tent to see Naruto walking into camp with an arm load of wood with an annoyed look on his face, followed closely by Sasuke holding some twigs. Kakashi shook his head. "Hey Sasuke, come here for a minute." Sasuke threw the twigs near the fire nearly hitting Sakura and Ino.

Sasuke glanced back at Naruto and then walked over to Kakashi. "Yeah Kakashi, what is it that you want?"

"Sasuke you know she is taken right?" Kakashi asked as Sasuke nodded. "Her fiancé is right over there." He Pointed at Hinata.

Sasuke looked at Hinata's male form and was not impressed. "So what? I could take him no problem."

"That is not the point. You take him and Akemi would castrate you with her sword. So leave them alone. You young man, have a problem with teamwork, now would be a good time to show some and work with the girls and help them with the camp choirs. Kikiyo's team set up their part of the camp quickly and efficiently. We did not. Remember this three mediocre shinobi can beat one good one any day with teamwork. Now go work with your teammates they need your help." Kakashi said as he smiled.

Sasuke walked back to the fire pit and helped Sakura and Ino with preparing the evenings meal.

The next morning the group cleaned up camp and set out. Naruto took the lead while Hinata and Kakashi stayed next to Ran and Tazuna. Kikiyo walked just behind them while Keiko took up the rearguard position. Sasuke, Sakura and Ino walked just ahead of Tazuna and Ran as a group. Kakashi just shook his head.

'Hinata scan ahead I smell something.' Naruto said as he pulled a kunai.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked ahead. 'Yes there is a man with a large sword fifty meters ahead and in the bushes.

Naruto threw the kunai to the exact spot where Hinata had said.

Zabuza was surprised that he was spotted fifty meters from the point person. 'How did they find me?' He thought as he performed a substitution leaving a white rabbit.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto did not answer as he got the news from Hinata. 'He used a substitution, there is only a rabbit there now.' Naruto understood as he pulled the kunai and rabbit out of the bushes. "Sensei, white rabbit." Naruto's only commented.

Sakura and Ino ran up to the Naruto and push him aside taking the rabbit and cuddling with it. Naruto just frowned. "What did you think you were doing? Hunting for dinner tonight?" Sakura said angrily.

Naruto scowled at Sakura and then looked at the jonin sensei. 'A white rabbit? They only have that color fur in the winter. So that means it was raised in doors away from the sun. This rabbit was meant for using in a substitution.' Kakashi thought then nodded to Naruto.

Off in the woods observing the group. "Looks like three of them are serious as are the jonin with them." Zabuza said to his masked companions. "Get the others we may need them. Until then I am going to play with them. Haku you stay here and provide backup. Shin you get the others ready."

Both figures answered as one. "Yes Zabuza-sama." One of the figures disappeared.

"Hey slackers guard the targets instead of yapping." Naruto said to the Konoha genin.

Sakura walked up behind Naruto and swung at him. Naruto easily ducked and pulled his practice sword out and slapped her on the knuckles.

"Ouch, that hurt. What did you hit me?" Sakura asked but still angrily.

"You swung at me. Be happy I used my practice sword, or you would be missing your hand. Now guard Tazuna and Ran." Naruto said angrily.

"Sensei, why is she giving orders?" Ino asked disappointed that Sasuke was not speaking.

"She has the right idea so I did not countermand the orders. So do as you're told." Kakashi replied.

Keiko yelled startling the Konoha genin. "Get down!" Keiko hit the dirt taking Ino and Ran with her. Hinata grabbed Tazuna and pulled them him down. Naruto grabbed Sakura and Sasuke and pulled them to the ground. Both jonin were on the ground quickly as a huge sword passed through the area where they had just been standing. If the group had been standing they would all be dead now.

Naruto stood and drew both his swords and sniffed the air. He turned to where the sword was imbedded in a tree. A man was standing on the hilt of the sword. "It's him again." Naruto said as if disappointed.

"Jeez you could give a little warning." Sakura complained as she got up. She then noticed Naruto in a fighting stance with both swords drawn. "What is going on?" Sakura followed Naruto's gaze to where Naruto was looking. "Who is the freak?"

Zabuza was a tall man with black hair, bandaged face, mist headband, no shirt, and gray camouflaged pants. "So we finally meet, Kakashi the copy cat ninja." Zabuza said happily.

"Zabuza, the demon of the mist. You are in the bingo books for attempting a coupe. So how did that go for you?" Kakashi questioned.

"Not so well but, after this job I should be able to return and finish what I started. Now give over the bridge builder." Zabuza demanded.

"Not a chance Zabuza. He is staying with us." Kakashi replied.

"Oh well you were warned." Zabuza said as he disappeared with his sword.

Naruto sniffed the air. "I smell water." He then threw a kunai at Tazuna. It missed by a mere centimeter hitting Zabuza between the eyes as he raised his sword to strike down Tazuna. Zabuza turned into a large blob of water that fell to the ground. "Damn only a Mizu Bunshin." Naruto commented. Hinata picked up the kunai and put it in her pouch.

"Okay let's move, he will try again." Kakashi ordered. As Naruto tightened up his formation and lead the group on.

"I smell more water. We are heading into his element. Hidden Mist jutsu." Naruto commented as a fog rolled in. "Takara?"

Hinata activated her Byakugan. "I do not see him but there is a pond about twenty meters to the north. My guess is that he will ambush us there."

"Good deduction Takara, as we will have to pass by the pond." Kikiyo commented.

"Give up the old man." They heard Zabuza's voice coming from the building fog. "Make it easy on yourselves. Come on a couple of jonin and a group of wet behind the ears genin aren't enough to stop me."

Hinata struck behind Tazuna hitting the Zabuza there in the head, this caused him to become a large blob of water and splash to the ground. "He seems to like Mizu Bunshin." Hinata commented.

The fog continued to thicken. "I see the kids have some skills. But will they be able to deal with me?" Massive killer intent washed over the group Ran, Tazuna, Sakura and Ino all fell to their knees. Sasuke was frozen in fear. Keiko was momentarily stunned.

Naruto and Hinata continued to look around searching for where he would appear next. Kakashi stepped forward and emitted a large amount of killer intent and chakra dispersing the fog. He looked directly at his students. "I will not let anything happen to you. That I promise on my life."

"If only you could have backed it up." Zabuza said as he appeared in between the children and Tazuna. He swung his his massive sword only to be blocked by Naruto with his katana.

"Not today!" Naruto said as he was slowly driven to his knees by Zabuza.

"She is feisty isn't she? Too bad you will have to die today little girl." Zabuza said as he continued to drive his sword down towards Naruto.

Zabuza attack faltered as he looked back to see Kakashi standing behind him with a kunai stabbed into Zabuza's kidneys. "Like I said I will not let them be harmed Zabuza." Kakashi said sternly.

Zabuza was leaking from the wound but it was water. Zabuza suddenly turned into a large blob of water and then splashed to the ground. Kakashi was suddenly split in two as Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and had swung his sword. Everyone gasped except Naruto, Hinata, and Kikiyo. Naruto had immediately thrust his sword into Zabuza through the disintegrating remains of Kakashi. Both Kakashi and Zabuza turned out to be Mizu Bunshin.

"Not bad kid. You did not lose your concentration when it counted. Using your teammate who was dying as a visual shield to make an attack was a good move." Zabuza said as he hit the real Kakashi into the water. Zabuza appeared next to Kakashi and completed several hand signs. "Water prison."

Kakashi knew he was trapped. "Run protect the bridge builder!" Kakashi yelled as several clones appeared near the others.

Kikiyo was fighting two clones. Naruto and Hinata were working through the clones as Keiko threw several shuriken at Zabuza. Zabuza suddenly turned and removed his hand from the water prison as Naruto swung his katana at Zabuza's arm. Naruto was ankle deep in the water and having trouble standing on the water. Zabuza swung his sword and hit Naruto who disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Shadow clone?" Sensing danger Zabuza leapt backwards missing being hit by a kunai swung by Kakashi. "I am impressed brat you were able to sneak up on me and release your sensei. You have my respect." Zabuza commented from behind the bandages on his face, you could almost see a smile.

"I aim to please!" Naruto said with a smile as he blocked the sword of a clone and Hinata killed it with a juken strike.

"Time to end this little charade." Zabuza said as he ran through a series of hand signs. Kakashi copied his movements to a tee. "Water style, Water Dragon Jutsu." Both men yelled at the same time. Giant spouts of water rose and twisted around the two. Finally reaching a height of fifty feet they spouts formed heads and attacked each other. Both 'killed' each other this caused the water tha t made up the jutsu to rain dowm on the combatants.

"You are copying me. Hey stop that! You are just a monkey that is copying me." Both men said as they continued to watch each other.

Zabuza saw an image of himself standing right behind Kakashi as if telling him what he was going to do next. Zabuza ran through another series of hand signs as Kakashi copied them precisely. "You will not win! You cannot win!" Both men said as one.

Kakashi hit the last hand sign as Zabuza faltered. "Water style, Giant Water Vortex!" Kakashi said as a horizontal vortex of water was formed in front of him and surged at Zabuza.

Zabuza and half the huge pond was washed into the trees. Zabuza hit a tree and was stunned. Zabuza was hit in the arms and legs with Kunai. "Can you predict the future?" Zabuza asked as he looked up into the tree at Kakashi.

"Yes, yes I can. And I see your death." Kakashi said as he prepared to throw a kunai.

Zabuza was suddenly hit by two senbon in the neck. His eyes went wide as he collapsed. A ninja wearing a mask appeared on a tree near Kakashi. "Thank you for helping me with killing this wanted criminal. You have my thanks." The ninja jumped down and grabbed Zabuza pulling him up on his shoulder.

Naruto charged as the ninja disappeared in a swirl of leaves. "What do you think you were doing Akemi? That was a hunter nin and he was going to dispose of the body." Kakashi commented angrily.

"No he wasn't." Naruto retorted. "If he was a hunter nin he would have disposed of the body right where it lay. Instead he picked up the body and ran away. Also did you notice what he used to 'kill' Zabuza?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi jumped down and leaned against a tree. "You are right. A true hunter nin would have disposed of the body right here and now. To make sure that the villages secrets would not be revealed. Good catch Akemi…" Kakashi said as his world started to spin and he started to fall.

--

A/N: Operation Red eye… I'm not telling. You can keep guessing all you want. :D


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but am having fun writing this story.

Chapter 16 – Reflections

Naruto rushed over and caught Kakashi as he fell. "Guess even jonin over do it." Naruto said with a smile. Naruto carried Kakashi the last few kilometers to Tazuna's house.

After meeting Tsunami and Inari the group put Kakashi upstairs in a bed to rest.

"Okay kids what has Kakashi taught you about chakra control?" Kikiyo asked.

"Well we continue to meditate, if that is what you mean." Sakura answered.

"Do you know how to climb trees?" Kikiyo asked.

"Sure what person doesn't?" Sasuke answered, this caused both Ino and Sakura to swoon. Keiko, Akemi and Takara all rolled their eyes.

"No Sasuke, I mean using chakra to climb a tree. Tomorrow we will work on this exercise. Akemi, Takara go catch some rabbits to supplement the food. Keiko, Ino, and Sakura go prepare the rooms for our stay. Sasuke you are with me." Kikiyo said as she Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke all walked outside.

"Why do they get to go with Sasuke-kun? Why do we have to do chores?" Ino asked almost whining.

"Akemi and Takara seem to have a knack for hunting that is why they are headed out. As for why Sasuke being talked to by Kikiyo, I have no clue. Tsunami-san you have two spare rooms right?" Keiko asked.

"Yes dear, you can have the two rooms opposite each other upstairs. I will start dinner." Tsunami replied.

"Okay girls since we have a lot of girls we will setup Akemi in with the boys." Keiko said.

"Why can't we have Sasuke in with the girls?' Ino asked.

"Akemi is betrothed to Takara, and she is used to sleeping near Takara. Sasuke seems like a loner and more than likely would be more of a distraction than a help in getting us to sleep. Also Akemi knows Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke does not know Kikiyo-sensei." Keiko answered.

Both girls sighed and slumped their shoulders in defeat.

Outside Kikiyo looked directly at Sasuke. "You will fix your attitude mister. I may not be your sensei but you have a lot to learn. You are only a genin, we are up against a jonin and a good one at that. If that hunter nin had gotten involved we might not have gotten away with the draw we did and there maybe more ninja that we do not know about. So take your training seriously. No I am sure that Keiko is going to put Akemi in the room with you boys." Kikiyo said, this caused Sasuke to get a gleam in his eyes. "Don't even think about challenging Takara, he is a Hyuuga and has already had to deal with other would be suitors. Akemi is only interested in Takara. Now you could impress me in taking your training seriously tomorrow."

"I don't take orders from you. You are not my jonin sensei." Sasuke said arrogantly.

"So the famous Uchiha arrogance is showing though. Guess your brother showed you the true meaning of being an Uchiha." Kikiyo said with a smirk.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke questioned angrily.

Kikiyo got an angry look on her face. "You must kill your best friend to achieve the ultimate eyes." Sasuke turned rigged at her words. "The eyes of the betrayer need only be used to destroy all that is. You have what maybe one tomoe?" Sasuke looked at her wondering why she knew so much about the Uchiha. "You also need to learn how to work on a team. The others will not slow you down if you work with them. If you find their strengths you will learn what is the best way they can help you and in turn how you can help them."

"Why would I need their pathetic help?" Sasuke asked.

"They are your team. For good or bad they are your team. They have strengths you do not. You think you are already strong, you are not. You still have much to learn. Also I do not like your attitude towards women. We may be physically weaker but we have strengths that you do not yet understand and if you keep your closed mind you will never understand. As for not being your sensei, I am from an allied village. You are a student of a friend. I am offering to teach you something you should already know. So if you pass this by your teammates will become stronger and you will just brood here and remain weak." Kikiyo walked back into the house leaving a stunned Sasuke.

Twenty minutes later Akemi and Takara came back with six cleaned and dressed rabbits. Tsunami was grateful for the extra food and cooked it with the meal. The meal was eaten quietly as most of the people at the table were tired. Inari kept looking at the ninja with distain.

Everyone went up to bed after doing the dishes. Hinata checked Kakashi and reported that he was still suffering from chakra exhaustion, and also a sprained ankle. Sasuke looked angrily at Naruto and Hinata as they snuggled up to each other and fell quickly asleep.

The next morning Naruto, Hinata, and Keiko were up helping Tsunami cook breakfast. Sasuke woke up to the smell of food and meandered down. Twenty minutes later Sakura and Ino landed face first at the bottom of the stairs in their race to sit by Sasuke at the table. Everyone downstairs just shook their heads at the girls antics. Breakfast was noisy mainly because Sakura and Ino were arguing while both sat on either side of Sasuke.

Kakashi had woken this morning and agreed with Kikiyo that his team should learn how to climb trees using chakra. Kikiyo took everyone out to a secluded glade near the house and showed Kakashi's team how to climb trees. Sakura immediately got it then proceeded to tease Ino, Akemi and Keiko that she could do this exercise easily. Naruto just shook his head. Ino was close but Sasuke was could only run up the tree for two meters. Sakura proceeded to yell at Akemi saying that she would not be able to do this. Sakura closed her eyes in glee.

"What do you mean? I have been able to do this for months." Akemi said looking down on Sakura from a limb above her holding on to the branch with only her feet and chakra. "We are working on water walking, when you get this down you can come train with us."

Naruto walked down the tree and then left with his team, leaving Kakashi's team with Kikiyo to continue to train on chakra control. Naruto, Hinata and Keiko moved to the water started to stretch out on the banks. They then stripped down to their underwear. Keiko started to walk onto the water as Hinata and Naruto finished undressing. They joined Keiko on the water as all of them sunk to their mid calves. There was a rustle in the bushes as Sakura walked out and saw all three in only underwear and bras for Keiko and Naruto (female redhead) and only underwear for Hinata (male form).

"Oh why are you undressed?" Sakura said while blushing at Takara.

"If we lose concentration we will only need to dry our underwear instead of all of our clothes." Keiko replied.

"Aren't you embarrassed to be seen by Takara-san nearly naked?" Sakura asked.

"No, our team has seen everyone in our team naked so there is no embarrassment. Also Takara-kun is engaged to Akemi-chan so I do not worry." Keiko answered as she grimaced and rose to ankle level in the water.

"You may try Sakura-chan but you need to regulate the flow of chakra out of your feet to stand on the water. We are in about three meters of water now. This exercise is similar but harder than the tree climbing exercise." Hinata explained to Sakura not looking up as she slid to mid thigh in the water.

Sakura took a step into the water and sunk to the bottom as it was only ankle deep.

"Unless you want to get soaked you might want to do two things." Naruto said hearing the splash from Sakura.

"What is that Akemi?" Sakura said annoyed.

"Disrobe to your undergarments and focus your chakra to your feet." Naruto said as he appeared to relax and rose to his ankles in the water.

"Don't look!" Sakura said to Takara.

"I am too busy to look at any other girl than Akemi-chan." Hinata said as her face relaxed and she rose to her ankles in the water.

"Oh and by the way if you get it on the first time, be careful it will be almost like walking on ice." Naruto said with a giggle.

Sakura stripped down to her pink bra and panties. Sakura focused her chakra and stepped onto the water, slid two meters and then promptly fell into the water.

"You did warn her." Keiko said with a smirk.

Sakura swam back to shore. "You did that on purpose. You didn't warn me."

"Actually we did warn you. You can try again if you like or not." Keiko said as she lost concentration and sunk to her waist. She regained control and rose to her ankles.

Sakura walked out into the water this time so that she was mid calf and then focused her chakra. She walked deeper and continued to sink. "Guys I am a little worried that I will sink." Sakura said nervously.

"Push more chakra into your feet. You need to adjust the amount as needed so that you will stay on the surface. What we are working on now is so that we can control our movements on the surface. Also this builds chakra capacity." Akemi (Naruto) replied as she sunk to her chest. "Dang it I lost most of my concentration." She then began to rise to her mid calves.

Sakura was only able to work on her chakra control for another half hour before she had to swim to shore and dry off. Ino entered the area an hour later. "That looks easy. Hey Takara looks good. What are you guys doing?" Ino looked at Sakura and saw she was only in her under garments. "Oh an orgy? What will Sasuke-kun think."

Sakura got an evil idea. "Hey think you can walk on water like them. It is similar to the tree walking just focus your chakra and then walk on the water."

Ino focused her chakra and then performed even better then Sakura did. Ino slipped on the water went three meters and she dove head first into the water. The others noticed and sank to their waists as they giggled and then rose again to their ankles.

--

Zabuza lay in a bed. Haku and Shin both stood near their master. "You should be back to normal in about a week. Shin and I are preparing with Ganju. We should have enough people to take care of both teams." Haku reported.

"Good. When I am fully recovered I will get that Kakashi and those brats." Zabuza said angrily.

"Ah, Zabuza, 'The Demon of the Mist'. Some demon, you got beat by a bunch of kids and their playmates." Gato said annoyed. Gato the shipping mogul, he had basically taken over the Wave country using thugs and his vast fortunes from shipping to accomplish this. He was attempting to rule with an iron hand but had not been able to stop Tazuna or the current leader of Wave from opposing him. He had hired Zabuza to help eliminate Tazuna so the populace would fall in line.

"What do you want Gato?" Zabuza asked angrily from his bed.

"I want to know why Tazuna is not dead yet. You promised me he would be dead." Gato said angrily.

"He will die by my hand." Zabuza said as Gato walked over to Zabuza.

"The mighty Zabuza, brought down by a bunch of kids." Gato said as he reached to grab Zabuza. "Ow! What are you doing? Let go of me you are breaking my wrist!" Gato yelped in pain.

Haku held Gato's wrist tightly. "You will not touch Zabuza-sama or I will kill you." Haku sensed the accompanying samurai thugs were going to pull their swords. Haku disappeared and reappeared between the two thugs holding their own swords to their necks. "You are not shinobi and would be well advised not to aggravate one."

"Enough, we did not come here to fight." Gato said sternly. "I came to find out if you planned to complete the job I assigned you. Kill him before he completes the bridge or I will not pay you. Do I make myself clear Zabuza?"

Haku stuck the swords into the floor and walked back to Zabuza. Both of the samurai were angry but jumped when Shin appeared in between them. "You should feel lucky, I didn't grab your swords. You would be looking at your own bodies right now as you died from your own swords. Haku was being nice when he did not kill you. I on the other hand will not be so lenient. So take your fat boss and leave before I kill you all." Shin whispered just loud enough for the two samurai to hear. Both samurai developed a very heavy sweat.

Gato and his thugs left the room and closed the door.

"You're too soft Haku. Also I had it under control." Zabuza said as he pulled a kunai out from under the sheets.

"No, Zabuza-sama, we need that low life for now so that we don't have to run from the hunter nin for a while." Haku replied.

"Haku, Shin, would you be opposed to not completing this mission? I think I might have found another apprentice that might be worthy of helping us. You know the downfall of the Mizukage is my ultimate goal and I think that girl would be a great addition. Your thoughts?" Zabuza asked.

"She was quite insightful in detecting you. I also think it might have something to do with the Hyuuga boy. They seem to be a good team. The other girl seems to round off the team rather well. I noticed that the girl you are talking about did sniff the air before she threw the kunai at you. That would imply she has enhanced olfactory senses. The Hyuuga has excellent eyes. And the other girl seems to have excellent hearing. I think their whole team including their sensei would make a great addition to our merry band." Haku replied.

"All the girls were sexy to me. Can we just kill that Kakashi guy and the brat with him? We can then keep all the girls and the Hyuuga." Shin replied bringing the ire of Haku.

"Always thinking with your libido eh Shin?" Zabuza joked.

"I do not recognize the headband of the girl and her team you want to have join with us. Do you know what village they hail from?" Haku asked.

"I recognize it from the great war, the village hidden behind the Whirlpool, Uzu. That village was thought to be wiped out by Iwa. Apparently either Konoha or Iwa has resurrected the village or it has reappeared on its own. So are we going to betray Gato before he does it to us?" Zabuza asked.

"I know he will betray us but it is a matter of when. If he is going to pay us for this job we are ok. If he does not we will have to kill him and take his fortune. I figure either way we win." Haku said coldly.

--

After a hard day of training, Naruto and Hinata returned to Tazuna's house with several dressed rabbits. Naruto looked Hinata in the eye and thought. 'I need to be myself at least for a little bit.'

Hinata nodded. 'We can take a bath and relax. Does that sound good?' Hinata replied in her mind to which Naruto smiled and nodded.

They were the first ones back and informed Tsunami that they were going to take a bath. Tsunami was a bit taken aback. "You are going to bathe together?"

Akemi (Naruto) replied. "Yes, we are betrothed and intend to marry. We just prefer to do these things together. Nothing untoward will happen we assure you. We just relax well in each other company."

Tsunami thought for a minute than nodded. "I guess that way you do not keep secrets from each other. I will allow it."

Naruto and Hinata entered the bathroom and disrobed. They broke the henge and started to scrub each other down as they drew the bath. They finished cleaning each other and then entered the bath. They both promptly fell asleep in each other's arms.

Tsunami knocked lightly and entered the bath with some extra towels. What she saw disturbed her but on in that she saw two different people in her bathroom, not Akemi and Takara. She walked closer and examined them. The boy was blond with whisker marks on his face. The girl had longer than shoulder length black hair and a fine scar running from her left breast to her collar bone. They appeared to be in their early teens. She kneeled down and cleared her throat and woke the two. The boy immediately stood in all of his glory ready to defend the girl, she was behind him ready to attack.

Both let out a sigh of relief when they saw it was Tsunami. "Why did you scare us like that Tsunami-san." The boy asked.

"Well for one. I was expecting a redhead girl and a dark haired boy. I come in and find a blond boy and a dark haired girl. Who are you?" Tsunami asked as she pointed out they were in their natural forms.

Naruto looked down and immediately turned red as he brought his hands to cover his crotch. "Its hard to explain and it is a long story."

"We have time." Tsunami said impatiently.

"The other look is their cover." A voice came from behind them as the door to the bathroom closed.

"Would you like me to explain Naruto and Hinata or would you like to do the honors?" Kakashi said as Hinata shrunk even farther behind Naruto hiding her naked body.

Naruto nodded. Hinata and Naruto sunk back into the bath to sit down. Hinata pressed close to Naruto's back. "You see we are known by two name each. I am both Naruto Uzumaki and Akemi Uzumaki. Hinata is known as Hinata Hyuuga and Takara Hyuuga. We both left Konoha because we were attacked. We were rescued by some shinobi from Uzu, my uncle and his team to be exact. With the permission of the Hokage we went to Uzu to have a new life."

Naruto took a deep breath and then sighed. "It was wonderful, we left a place that ridiculed us and beat us to a place where we were loved and appreciated." He scowled at Kakashi who had a look of confusion on his face. "We also found out that Hinata was betrothed. Now here is the weird part. She was betrothed to me the day after my birthday as birthday present for her when she turned sixteen. Both her parents signed the document and put in notes on how happy they were to make us happy. This was turned in on the next morning and registered with the Hokage. Much later that day Fugaku Uchiha walked into the Hokage's office with a document of betrothal that stated that Hinata was to be wed when she was eighteen to Sasuke Uchiha. Also it would turn the Hyuuga family over to the control of Sasuke, only Hiashi, Hinata's father's signature was on the document."

Hinata spoke up. "My life became a living hell after that. My father would expect the impossible from me and then beat me when I would not achieve it. I could tell something was wrong but could not place it. My mother died in childbirth soon after that and my father got even worse. My refuge was my friend Naruto-kun and the Academy. After a hard beating from my father I went to see Naruto. He arrived soon after me all beaten and bloody. He had been attacked by a teacher from the academy. Naruto was supposed to meet Kurenai-sensei at the park, instead Naruto-kun was ambushed by Mizuki-teme."

"He was a chunin and I was only an academy student. One who was taught incorrect hand signs on purpose. I got to my apartment and found a bruised and battered Hinata on my doorstep crying. I let her into my apartment and started to pack as I knew Mizuki would be after me as he promised to kill me. I told Hinata-chan I was leaving Konoha. Just then a group of Hyuuga branch member break in and say they are going to kill us both, all were chunin. Thinking the world was against us I did the only logical thing, I grabbed Hinata-chan's hand and we jumped out the window. We found more Hyuuga waiting outside and an Uchiha also, they blocked the way to the Hokage's office. So we ran to the gates. The guards told us we were on our own, they would not help. Two kids could not get help from the guards at the gate Kakashi! What were we supposed to do, die?"

Kakashi was dumbfounded and could not reply as his head fell.

"So we ran into the woods outside of Konoha, Hinata-chan couldn't run any more so we tried to hide. There was a battle close by. I Kumo shinobi had run into the Konoha chunin and fought them for us. He was able to defeat the chunin. He returned to collect us and I attempted to defend Hinata-chan, I was stabbed in the gut for what I did. Hinata-chan then tried to defend me and was cut across the chest as the scar will attest to. My uncle arrived and killed the Kumo nin. I was somehow able to heal Hinata-chan enough so that she did not bleed to death and then passed out. We then traveled with my uncle and his team to Uzu to meet with my grandfather. As I said permission was given by the Hokage for us to go to Uzu as there were Uzumaki and Hyuuga in the village, and after the attacks he thought we would be better protected there. We started new lives there loved and cared for." Naruto continued.

"That was until we had visitors from Konoha." Hinata said as she glared at Kakashi.

"How was I supposed to know that Kodai would attack you." Kakashi replied defensively.

"He had orders from the Konoha Hyuuga clan council to kill both of us on sight. That is why the chunin Hyuuga attacked both of us in the first place. That is why we worked on this particular style of transformation. It is an actual transformation instead of a genjutsu. Talking with our families we decided the safest way to protect ourselves from gallivanting hoards of Konoha nin would be to hide in plain sight as the opposite of what we were. I would become a girl and Hinata would become a boy. And I tell you being a girl isn't easy." Naruto said with a chuckle. "There was another attack near graduation. Mizuki had arrived in town and we did not want to get noticed so we changed into our alternate forms. Little did I know the rules of marriage in Konoha, where rape is an acceptable form of entering a family." Naruto paused as he showed his anger.

Tsunami gasped. Kakashi looked surprised. "He didn't?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes he tried to rape me in my female form. He nearly succeeded but ultimately did not, now you understand some of the reasons I do not like Konoha or the males from it. And you keep on pushing the false marriage contract Kakashi, she is mine, and I am hers. We love each other and do not care what the contracts say. Also according to Uzu and Konoha laws our betrothal comes before any claim that Uchiha brat has. Oh and by the way, Mizuki died for his crimes. Also I swear if Sasuke does not leave me alone I will castrate him." Naruto said angrily.

"Konoha would not be happy as he is the last of the Uchiha and that might cause a war." Kakashi replied.

"Between Kodai, Mizuki and Danzou Uzu is on the brink of war with Konoha, and Iwa is in agreement. Look Kakashi we know that our lives as shinobi will be difficult but this is ridiculous. Do you know that I came in second in my class at the academy, where in Konoha I was dead last, thanks to the teachers who did not want to teach me." Naruto said.

"How could they do that to the son of the Fourth Hokage…" Kakashi covered his mouth as he realized what he said.

"Is that true?" Naruto asked surprised by the possible revelation.

Kakashi sighed. "Yes you are the son of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. I am sorry I told you, not Iwa will want your head as retribution for what he did during the war."

Naruto shook his head and smiled. "Nope, already talked to the Tsuchikage. He said even if I was the son of Minato all Iwa shinobi will not attack me period. That was after a drunk Iwa nin attacked me. So I am safe from Iwa, but I am not safe with Konoha. The place I was born. I know why also."

Kakashi was surprised by this. "When did you, and how did you find out?"

"When I healed Hinata-chan, we talked. She is actually rather nice. I know she is up to something though." Naruto said as he smiled.

"What? I know Hinata-chan is a nice person but what is she up too?" Tsunami asked.

Naruto and Hinata blushed. "No, Hinata-chan is up to something but that is not what I am talking about." Hinata blushed even redder. "Let me introduce myself. I am Naruto Uzumaki, son Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, Nephew to Ichiro Uzumaki and grandson to Takashi Uzumaki. I am also the container to the Kyuubi no Yokou, the nine tailed demon fox. I am what is called a jinchuuriki, a human sacrifice. The Kyuubi attacked Konoha because she was ordered to, so to defend the village my father sealed her within me. So do you think I am a monster Tsunami?"

Tsunami chuckled. "No child you are not a monster, Inari is a monster. He is a wild child who misses his adopted father very much."

"What happened?" Hinata asked.

Tsunami sat down on the chair and proceeded to tell the tale of Kaiba and how important he was to Inari. Naruto offered to talk to him. Tsunami agreed it might do him some good.

"So Kakashi do you understand why I am a little hesitant to go back to Konoha? Do you also understand why I will not let Sasuke have Hinata? He only wants her for breeding stock and to get rid of his fan girls. Believe me I know what it is like to have them but I will not give up my love for his or any council's selfish purposes." Naruto asked.

"I understand Naruto. You have proven your point to me. I will get Sasuke to back off and have him look at his life. I will also try to get the girls to look past his status and good looks and try to work harder." Kakashi said as he left the room.

--

A/N: Now I you understand why Kakashi has had the stick up his butt. He is coming to realize that Naruto has had a hard life and should be left to his own devices. He also realizes that Hinata will not marry Sasuke. Heck she is sharing a bath with Naruto. He also got the hint that Fugaku was duplicitous with the marriage contract.

Naruto is tired of being chased by Sasuke and will more than likely will hurt Sasuke. So the threat of losing the Uchiha line is set. Are you guys happy.

Next chapter battle for the bridge.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Note: For all my fans who are asking for Sasuke to be castrated, I am sorry to say that it does not happen in this chapter. That being said I did put in a shorter recap. Also there shouldn't be one for a few chapters if not more, and I will refer to it as retelling from this point on, to save on valuable reading space. So read on and I have an Omake at the end for your entertainment.

Chapter 17 – Truth revealed and a chance meeting…

Sasuke had suppressed his chakra as much as possible and snuck into the changing room. He hid in the laundry basket and listened. Of the few things heard one was that Akemi was actually a boy named Naruto, but the biggest thing that caught his attention was that Takara was actually Hinata Hyuuga. He had found his salvation from fan girls. He waited until both Kakashi and Tsunami left the room to get out of the basket. He crept into the bath hoping to catch a glimpse of his future wife. He got more than he bargained for. Hinata seemed to have the same build as Akemi, well developed for a thirteen year old. What really got Sasuke's attention was Naruto, he was a blond and seemed well developed for a male of thirteen years.

Hinata jumped behind a naked Naruto suddenly. "You can come out Sasuke-teme. I can smell you in the other room. Come in, we a few things to discuss." Naruto said as he helped Hinata cover up with a towel. "Did you get an eyeful of my fiancé? She is quite beautiful, isn't she?" Naruto asked angrily.

Sasuke opened the door and walked in. He sat on the chair while Naruto and Hinata sat on the rim of the tub. "As for liking what I see, it does not matter. She is my fiancé not yours. So you will send her back with me when this mission is complete."

"Arrogant as ever, just what I have come to expect from a true Uchiha. Hinata-hime, who would you rather marry, me or Sasuke?" Naruto asked nicely.

"Her opinion does not matter. She is betrothed to me by signature of both of our fathers. So she does not have a say. Now that I have found her I will also have control of the Hyuuga also." Sasuke replied.

Naruto grinned. "Well there is the problem. I have first dibs on betrothal. If you were listening you would know this. Also you would deny a dead woman her last wish?" Naruto said cryptically. "She does to have a say in this as she is the other party in either marriage. So Hinata-hime, I know this is unfair but who would you choose?"

Hinata glared at Sasuke. "I would rather die than marry an arrogant prick like you Sasuke Uchiha. You claim to be a noble but you forget we are all three heirs to houses. Even if my sister was named heir I am still heir and could assert my rights at any time. You…" Hinata commented until she was interrupted by Sasuke.

"You are a woman and have no rights in this matter and you are a nobody Naruto from some backwater village. So, yes I do trump you in so far as betrothal." Sasuke arrogantly proclaimed.

Naruto chuckled and then looked directly at Sasuke. Naruto's eyes were red with slits for pupils. "You think just because the mighty Uchiha blood flows in your veins you are above everyone else. Let me point out a few facts for you. First, bloodline or not Keiko could beat you into the ground, let alone me the brawler in our team. Second, the betrothal of Hinata-hime and I was filed first I can show you the copies, signed by jiji, the Third Hokage. Third I am of noble Konoha birth also so your argument that you outrank me is totally ludicrous. And no I will not give that clans name, there at too many enemies that would cause me grief. Fourth, Hinata-hime does not like you and if forced to marry you she would either charge you with rape on your wedding night or kill you at the altar depending on her mood. As it stands now, I am sure you would die at the altar." Naruto said but was interrupted by Sasuke.

"What clan? I only knew of only one Uzumaki ever to live in Konoha and he disappeared years ago." Sasuke stated.

"For a noble you do interrupt a lot. Didn't your mother teach you manners? And yes I know she is alive. Your brother did not kill all of your clan. I would also like to point out that you have not commented that you were attracted to female version of me. I am very disturbed by Konoha males and their penchant for liking a male posing as a female. Would you happen to be homosexual deep down?" Naruto said with a smirk. Hinata chuckled.

"No I am not. I will prove it." Sasuke stood and grabbed Hinata's arm. With his other arm he tore the towel away from her body. "I will take my wife to be right now." Sasuke suddenly stopped as he felt two waves of killer intent wash over him. He looked at Hinata and saw that her eyes while like a Hyuuga the iris has taken a redder tone and the hidden pupil was not round but a slit. Sasuke turned to Naruto, his whisker marks darkened and his irises changed from the purple they had been back to blood red.

"Unhand her, now! I swear you have two seconds…" Naruto growled.

"Or we will kill you!" Hinata growled.

Sasuke let Hinata go and backed up with a scared look on his face. "What are you?"

"You weren't listening to closely were you. I hoped we would not have to repeat ourselves. So we will not. No get out of here before I let Hinata kill you for insulting and assaulting her." Naruto growled.

The door opened Kikiyo entered the room with kunai drawn. She saw that Naruto and Hinata were both nude and had gone feral. She turned to see the subject of their rage. "Sasuke Uchiha, you have nearly caused an international incident. You attacked a shinobi of Uzu and I am sure you were up to no good. Seeing as they are in their natural state other than being really pissed you will keep any information you learned here secret. That is by order of both the Third Hokage and the leader of Uzu. Do I make myself clear?" Kikiyo ordered.

"You have no right to order me around." Sasuke stated.

"Oh but she does and so do I Sasuke." Kakashi stated as he entered.

There were a couple of shrieks as Sakura and Ino entered the room. "Sensei who are they and why are they not wearing clothes?" Sakura asked.

Naruto glared at Sakura. "Don't you know it isn't polite to enter a bath while people are not clothed? And as for you Uchiha, you ever touch her again I will rip your arm off. Threaten her with bodily harm I will not just castrate you I will rip them off with my bare hands." Naruto growled at Sasuke.

Naruto smirked as a wet spot appeared on Sasuke's crotch. "You d… don't scare me."

Naruto and Hinata grabbed towels, wrapped them around themselves and left the room.

"Kakashi-sensei who are they?" Sasuke asked as he slid to the floor exhausted.

"This is an 'S' ranked secret and should not be told to anyone, do I make myself clear?" Kakashi asked. All of his students nodded. "The boy's name is Naruto Uzumaki, son of Kushina Uzumaki, born in Konoha thirteen years ago. The girl's name is Hinata Hyuuga, daughter of Hiashi Hyuuga, and heir to the Hyuuga clan. Both were fellow academy students of yours. They were chased out of Konoha and moved to Uzu. They changed their appearance for safety reasons. That is all I will say. Now get ready for today's training."

Naruto and Hinata had changed back to their alternate forms and left to train. Hinata came back later that evening exhausted but informed everyone that Naruto was still training. Naruto was awaked to a familiar scent, the same one of the hunter nin. Naruto did not move in order gauge the response of the other shinobi.

The areas trees were scared with slash mark as if from a sword. The feminine looking boy reached down as if to strangle the girl before him but then shook the girl awake. "You should not sleep here you will catch a cold. What are you doing out here?"

Naruto appeared to stir. "I was training and guess I passed out from exhaustion." Naruto replied.

"Why are you doing that?" Haku asked.

"I am trying to get stronger to protect those that I care dearly for." Naruto said as he lowered his head.

"That is truly a noble goal. You have found the path how to becoming truly strong." Haku stated as Naruto looked confused as Naruto sat up. "To protect those you hold precious is the way to become very strong. I can tell you will become very strong."

"I am Akemi Uzumaki, and you are the hunter nin we met almost a week ago." Naruto stated.

Haku visibly paled, stood and then moved into a defensive stance. "How do you know that?"

Naruto pointed to his/her nose. "I smelled your scent before and wearing female clothes did not help mask your smell. As for a fight we do not need to fight right now." Naruto said and smiled. "I see you are looking for medicinal herbs. They are for Zabuza aren't they?"

Haku nodded. "How do you know that?"

"I actually studied medical herbs while I was in the academy. I also seen some of the healing herbs you have already collected." Naruto moved closer and pulled out one plant that is slightly different than the other plants in the basket. "Well if you had put this into a medicine it would have put Zabuza out for a week. Now we wouldn't want to have Zabuza not show up and have to say he could not do his job because he got the wrong medicine would we?" Naruto said jokingly.

"Why are you helping me?" Haku asked confused.

"I see the loneliness and determination in your eyes. I had that when I was younger and didn't have many people I could rely on. I am sure you had similar troubles in your past like me." Naruto stated.

"Yes I did have a troubled past. I lived in a small village in the snowy areas of the Mist County. Zabuza found me there living from day to day. He saved me from dyeing. So I owe him my life. I am Haku by the way." Haku said remembering the past.

"Haku, nice to meet you, my aunt's name is also Haku. I am pleased to meet you. You are a strong shinobi and have appear to have had good training to have used that faked death of Zabuza to try and trick us. I know now you are helping him heal from the wounds he received while fighting us aren't you?" Naruto asked.

"Yes I am, you do have good deductive reasoning." Haku replied.

"So why do you fight for Gato?" Naruto asked.

"We fight for him only because he will pay us so that we can help fulfill Zabuza's dream. He wishes to become the Mizukage." Haku replied.

"You of course know that Gato will betray you even if you succeed." Naruto more stated then questioned.

"We are aware that he is not the most reputable character." Haku replied.

"If Zabuza wants a place to help him out he could come to Uzu and work for us. I happen to know the leader and we could use the extra hands." Naruto offered.

"Why would you offer help to a stranger?" Haku questioned.

"I feel a kindred spirit with you. I know Zabuza is the sometimes cold hearted, but there is good within him. You are the perfect example of that. Does Zabuza consider you a tool?" Naruto asked.

Haku nodded and smiled weakly.

"Well if you are a tool then why did you not attack me? I am to be considered an enemy and you did not attack. As far as I can tell you are human and can reason for yourself. Thus you are not truly a tool. A tool is to be discarded when it is used up or broken. I am sure that Zabuza would not do that. If he did then I would like to take that tool he discarded as I feel even dull or broken it would still have value." Naruto said.

"You are odd, but I will consider your proposal. You are a pretty girl by the way." Haku said as he stood.

"Thank you Haku-kun. But not everything is as it seems." Naruto said with a wink.

Haku didn't understand so put it off as Akemi being either silly or something to watch for later.

--

Haku came back to the hideout in a very chipper mood. "Haku where have you been?" Shin asked very annoyed.

"I have been gathering herbs to help Zabuza-sama to recover more quickly. I will also talk with him after I prepare his tea." Haku replied.

"Why do you continue push yourself off as a girl?" Shin asked. "I admit you do make a very pretty girl but I know you are a boy."

"Deception is at the heart of being a shinobi." Haku said and then it hit him what Akemi had said. 'Akemi is not a girl either.'

Haku came into Zabuza's room. Zabuza was sitting up on his bed.

"Zabuza-sama you should not push yourself. You will be better in a couple days. I also have information for you that you might find interesting." Haku said as he handed Zabuza his tea.

"Do tell Haku-kun, do tell." Zabuza relied in a happy and eager voice.

--

"Hinata-chan do you think you would be more flexible in your female or male form?" Naruto asked.

"I would say female but we would have to try to see which one is more flexible. Why do you ask Naruto-kun?" Hinata replied questioningly.

"Well I am sure I will need my male form as I can squeeze more strength out of it but will lose some flexibility if I have to fight against Zabuza and his companions. I am thinking of going in female form but in male clothing so as to change if needed and not be restricted by the clothes." Naruto said as he continued to ponder.

"That is sound logic Naruto-kun, but I am not sure you will be able to fight in your female form in the male clothes." Kikiyo stated.

"Why don't I get to give them a surprise?" Keiko asked playfully.

"You need to save your chakra for the fight. Transformations cost us little to nothing so far as chakra goes. I have also been working on a new method of chakra control. I almost have the first step down." Naruto said happily.

"I have helped him with it. He is using chakra manipulation. Right now we are just swirling chakra in our palms." Hinata said smiling and blushing.

"Okay then we will go in three days as an all female squad, I am basing this on the information Naruto gave us earlier from his meeting with this Haku person. I have also talked to Kakashi. He thinks his team will be ready. I know that the girls on his team are about a third of the way through the water walking training and Sasuke is done with the tree climbing exercise. I am glad you guys were able to help the girls with water walking. That will help them out a lot. Sakura has so little chakra but her control is near perfect. Ino has quite a bit more than Sakura and similar control, but Sasuke has the most chakra of the three but the least control. Now, Sasuke is brooding so leave him alone if you can." Kikiyo ordered.

The next three days of training went without incident. Naruto and Hinata used their normal form and trained in that form. Sakura and Ino spent time working on water walking after they got over the fact that Naruto was a boy and Hinata was a girl. They apologized to Hinata for their harsh treatment and chastised Naruto for faking being a girl. Naruto took the girls into the bathroom and proved that under his henge he was actually a girl, much to his annoyance. He did not show them he was a boy again. Sasuke kept bothering Kakashi to train him, to which Kakashi suggested learning water walking like the girls. Sasuke did not want to bother with that type of training.

--

"Tsunami-san I am leaving a couple clones here for your protection. They will protect you if something happens. One will disperse and alert me the other will defend you until help arrives." Naruto said as everyone left. He left two shadow clones both went up stairs and meditated while Tsunami did the breakfast dishes. Naruto was still kicking himself for waking up late. 'Hinata-chan, was I that hard to wake this morning?'

'No Naruto-kun, Kakashi said to let you sleep because you got in late from training. I for some reason do not trust him. Should I let Kikiyo-sensei know?' Hinata answered in his mind.

'There is something locked in your mind Naruto-kun and it bothers me, I am certain that it has to do with Kakashi.' Kyuubi said to the two.

'What do you mean Kyuubi-sama?' Hinata asked.

'I am not certain yet but when I am I will tell you what I have found out. Now go and protect the bridge builder.' Kyuubi replied.

'Hai' Naruto and Hinata responded as one.

Naruto continued down the path and found trees that had been slashed recently. 'I have to return to the house. Be safe Hinata-chan I will be there as soon as I can.' Naruto changed directions and headed back to Tazuna's house at full speed.

'We will Naruto-kun.' Hinata responded.

'What are you thinking kit?' Kyuubi asked Naruto.

'I am thinking either Gato or Zabuza wants some insurance.' Naruto replied as he got the memory from one of his shadow clones. 'Great Tsunami and Inari have company. I may be a little late to the party. Save some bad guys for me.' Naruto thought.

'I will just be safe Naruto-kun.' Hinata replied.

Naruto arrived at the house to find his clone smiling a big grin as it stood over two tied up samurai goons. "Got them just after they broke down the door, they are Gato's men. It might make a good bargaining chip to get Zabuza to stop fighting. They also mentioned that Gato does not intent to pay Zabuza, and he is hoping we kill him while he kills us. Did I do good?" The Naruto clone asked.

Naruto nodded. "You did great. Now take Tsunami and Inari to the neighbors and take the goons to be held elsewhere, jail or something like that." Naruto replied as the cloned nodded and escorted the four away from the house. 'Hinata-chan you get that information? When you see Zabuza, tell Haku what I found out.'

'Okay Naruto-kun, I will do as you say. I will also tell Kikiyo-sensei also.' Hinata replied.

--

A mile from the bridge a fog hangs over the area. "Kikiyo-sensei?" Hinata whispered.

"Yes Hinata-chan?" Kikiyo replied quietly.

"Naruto-kun says that Gato send samurai to Tazuna's house. He took care of them. He also said to tell you that Gato plans to betray Zabuza and to tell him so, specifically the hunter nin with him. We need to tell him that Akemi told us." Hinata quietly told Kikiyo.

"Tell Naruto-kun thank you and we will wait for him at the bridge. I am not sure we can stop the Konoha shinobi from fighting with Zabuza and his companions but we should at least tell them this information before anyone really gets hurt." Kikiyo whispered back to Hinata.

Hinata nodded her response as she forwarded the information to Naruto. Kakashi leaned over looking at the females. "So why are you going as yourself Hinata-chan." Kakashi asked, the last words were delivered angrily. "Trying to rub it in to Sasuke that you do not like him?"

Hinata looked kindly at Kakashi and smiled. "Why Kakashi-sensei, are you worried that I would offend the great and powerful Sasuke Uchiha-kun?" Hinata said sarcastically.

"Shut up bitch! You are mine and will be mine, even if I have to kill Naruto." Sasuke replied as he heard Hinata's rhetorical.

"You would insult a Hyuuga, especially one you plan to bed? I am not an Inuzuka and if you infer that again the Uchiha line will end with you. I will send enough chakra into your testicles that they explode and I know for a fact that only Tsunade would be able to fix them. But given that you swore to kill her great-cousin I am sure she would be more than willing to heal them after I blow them up." Hinata said with an evil grin.

"Are you implying that Naruto is related to Tsunade of the Sanin?" Sakura asked.

"He is and so will I when Naruto and I are married. Now control your boyfriend before he proves himself to be the last of the Uchiha." Hinata threatened as she saw Sasuke's eyes momentarily flash red. Hinata felt this as a threat and flashed her own eyes at Sasuke, veins popped out near her eyes but also instead of seeing round light lavender pupils they were slits like a fox or cat.

"Hinata-chan calm down, we are supposed to be allies. And Great-aunt Tsunade Senju would be mad if we fought with our Konoha allies." Keiko said as she put a hand on Hinata's shoulder that calmed her down. "Any ways if Sasuke wants you as a wife, why not make it a harem? I am sure Naruto-kun won't mind having a second to push around." Keiko said with giggle.

"But Keiko-chan, that in itself would be the end of the Sasuke's line. I would never sleep with him no matter what. So why would I marry him when he has so many willing victims to follow him into bed?" Hinata asked as they approached the bridge.

The bridge was filled with bodies of workers. Hinata took a quick look at them and saw none were dead. "They are all alive. Sakura, Ino and I will collect them Sasuke and Keiko guard us." Hinata said quickly as she ran to one of the bodies.

--

Omake: This is similar to the one I sent to Leaf Ranger.

News Flash!! Three stories in one… Demon found… Heiress found… And Sasuke's family jewels stolen…

Naruto Uzumaki has been found along with the Hyuuga Heiress Hinata Hyuuga. Both seemed to have disappeared to our recent ally Uzu for their own protection. In a related but not separate story Sasuke Uchiha will no longer be able to produce children. The Konoha village council called for the death of Uzumaki in this incident, where Uzu called for the death of Sasuke Uchiha for insulting Uzu and attacking Hinata and Naruto.

The Uchiha are not responding to the press but the Konoha council is calling for reparation in the form of returning both Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga. It is believed that the council will call for Naruto's death if he arrives in Konoha. The actual person who damaged Sasuke's jewels are Hinata Hyuuga who claimed to be defending Naruto and herself. She claims Sasuke attacked Naruto and attempted to rape her so she sent chakra into the Uchiha heir.

Tsunade was later asked if she would heal Sasuke and told this reporter that she would help make sure the boy was permanently sterilized if she were able to touch him. She said she was really disappointed in her village for their treatment of Naruto and her Great-nephew. She said she would even refuse an order from either the Hokage or the Konoha council to heal Sasuke.

Sasuke's sensei did not show up to his appointment for an interview. The leader of Uzu Takashi Uzumaki said that he nearly called Iwa and was ready to march into Konoha and finish wiping out the Uchiha, the village council, the Hyuuga clan council, and several individuals that had hurt Naruto over the years.

What will this spell for international relations? We shall wait and see.

--

A/N: There I hope you guys are happy I did castrate Sasuke. Now this was an Omake and did not happen. But we can all dream. I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Now we can go to the actual battle with Zabuza in next chapter. I thought it would be a good place to end the chapter as most of you know that Zabuza, Haku and Chin will be waiting for our hero's to be at the bridge.

I would like to say that it was because my wife was out of town that it delayed this chapter. I look forward to your reviews. Oh for you betas out there, I am looking for Betas for this story, please send me a PM (Personal Message) and not leave your name in the reviews. I will of course like to take some of the editing of the chapters out of my hands so I can improve my style more quickly. Well until next chapter. Oh there will also be a time skip after the wave so that we go straight to the chunin exams. I am thinking of sending both top teams from Uzu to the exams. As for Orochimaru I am going to put some information into the story about what he is doing as Rice country borders Whirlpool. There more than likely will not be a Sasuke retrieval arc as Uzu does not care about Sasuke and if he runs, Uzu is not worried.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Yes there will be some Sasuke bashing and even more Kakashi bashing and a secret will be revealed. Well on to the story.

Chapter 18 – The fight at the bridge…

Sasuke looked really annoyed. "Again with the Uzu ordering us around, I am Sasuke… mmph…" Sasuke said until his mouth was covered by Kikiyo.

"Sasuke, you want to give away your secrets to the enemy?" Kikiyo said as she glared at Sasuke. "Your identity can be a weapon against an enemy if you are not well known or it can cause your enemy to overestimate you and destroy you quickly. As for Hinata giving orders, I have no problem with it as long as she is doing the right thing. She is my medic and needs to be protected." Kikiyo whispered the last point.

Ino, Sakura and Hinata gathered the injured workers and pulled them father back on the bridge out of any fighting area.

"Sasuke, Keiko you guard Tazuna unless we tell you otherwise." Kakashi ordered.

Suddenly five Zabuza appeared around the group. "I see you came prepared with a medic and everything. Maybe she will be able to patch you up when we get done with you. We have no qualms with you. Well, maybe with Kakashi Hatake, but not with anybody else. I see your student is quivering with fear." Zabuza said laughingly.

"I am not quivering with fear, I am shaking in anticipation. I want to fight." Sasuke replied with an actual smile.

"Do it Sasuke." Kakashi ordered.

Sasuke disappeared and reappeared back in the same spot with an arrogant smile on his face. Suddenly all the Zabuzas fell away as large globs of water.

"Haku, it looks like you have a rival." Zabuza said as he smiled behind his bandages.

"It would appear so Zabuza-sama. Can I deal with him? I am sure Shin would like to take the female jonin, he likes that sort of thing. I will Leave Kakashi to you." Haku replied.

"Yes! I get the woman! I am going to so mess you up!" Shin yelled exuberantly.

"Haku, Akemi told me to tell you that she knows Gato is going to cheat you guys out and try to kill us all after we fight each other and wear ourselves down." Kikiyo yelled while looking angrily at Shin.

"I see. Why is Akemi-chan not here?" Haku asked.

"Akemi was protecting the bridge builder's family. Akemi stopped a couple of samurai from taking them hostage. Akemi also sent word that she will be here soon. Have you talked to Zabuza about what Akemi told you?" Kikiyo asked hoping that Zabuza would not attack.

"I have, he has not informed me of his decision." Haku replied and looked at Zabuza.

"I haven't decided yet. I am interested in the offer though. Let's play for a little bit and I will make up my mind." Zabuza said as he pulled his massive sword off his back.

"Enough of this!" Sasuke said as he ran towards the three missing nin. Sasuke threw three shuriken, one for each nin.

Haku pulled out a senbon and blocked all three. "If you are so eager to die then we can accommodate you." Haku angrily said as he started to spin and move towards Sasuke.

"Can I gut her? Please?" Shin pleaded.

"Are you sure you can handle her?" Zabuza said as he watched Sasuke pull out a kunai and try to make a swipe at Haku. Haku blocked the swing with his senbon. "I am going to enjoy this. Have fun, and try to not get yourself killed Shin."

Shin ran past Sasuke and Haku and threw a couple of kunai at Kikiyo. Kikiyo easily blocked with her own kunai. "Are you trying to insult me? A genin can throw better than that." Kikiyo taunted.

Haku and Sasuke battled for position while their weapons were engaged. "You are good but are at a disadvantage." Haku stated.

"How so? We both have weapons engaged so we can't do much else." Sasuke replied almost taunting.

Haku put his off hand up and made several hand signs. "Ninja art: A thousand Ice Needles." Suddenly a thousand ice needles were formed from water puddles around them. All the needles suddenly headed towards Sasuke.

'One handed jutsu? How can this be?' Sasuke thought as he jumped out of the way of the ice senbon flying at him.

"You have good evasion and your speed is excellent." Haku mentioned as if a teacher rolling off a list of things that Sasuke was to perform for a test.

"I have not hit my full speed just yet. There is a little bit more." Sasuke replied arrogantly.

"I am sorry to hear that, as I have much greater speed. I propose you stand down until Akemi arrives." Haku said almost pleadingly.

"Why should we wait for that bitch? She is not what she seems anyways." Sasuke said as if he knew something and wanted to tell it. .

"That maybe, but the art of the shinobi is deception." Haku replied.

"I will defeat you and show you my strength." Sasuke said as he charged Haku.

Sasuke and Haku continued to trade blows as neither made a hit.

Shin screamed and fell to the ground. "That was too easy." Kikiyo gloated.

"Genjutsu? Shin was always terrible with Genjutsu." Zabuza said as he disappeared.

Kakashi uncovered his left eye and revealed his Sharingan again. "Looks like I am going to kill you sooner rather than later Zabuza." Kakashi stated.

The fog around the bridge thickened. "Kakashi… I found the Sharingan's weakness. And I know you cannot predict the future with it either. So I have a prediction for you…" Zabuza's voice echoed around the bridge.

"And what would that be?" Kakashi inquired.

"I am going to kill you today, because you will not be able to stop me. I am the master of the silent kill. The only thing that could save you is that girl from Uzu. I will either join their village or have the girls join my group." Zabuza replied. "Haku seems to have become attached to her for some reason. Nina Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu." The fog thickened to almost be impenetrable.

Kikiyo knew that this was one of the weaknesses of the Sharingan. "So is the Copy-Cat ninja going to lose today? I know Takashi would love to have Zabuza come to Uzu. So Zabuza?" Kikiyo asked coyly.

"Yes… How may I help you?" Zabuza replied as he swung his sword which Kakashi blocked with his kunai.

"Have you made a decision on Uzu or not, we would love to have you join the village." Kikiyo stated.

"How can you want a cold-blooded killer like him to join your village?" Sakura asked as she tried to listen to Sasuke's fight.

"I would rather have him as an ally then an enemy." Keiko responded. "And Haku has a nice voice."

"How can you think about that monster while poor Sasuke-kun is fighting for his life?" Sakura asked almost pleading.

"How can you like that pampered brat?" Keiko retorted.

"He is not pampered… He is brooding." Ino responded forcefully.

"Shut it you pink hair banshee and do your job!" Hinata yelled at Sakura as she did a foot sweep sending a ninja right at Sakura.

Sakura jumped back and slapped the flying ninja to the ground with a resounding thump. Keiko immediately grabbed the shinobi's hands and put a small seed near the restrained hands. Keiko pushed a little of her chakra into the seed which immediately grew into a pair of shackles and bound the man. "You might actually become a decent shinobi with some training." Keiko jested.

"Shut it brown haired… plant girl." Sakura said in a vain attempt at insulting Keiko.

The sound of weapons hitting each other resounded off the bridge.

"Hey Kakashi, let's watch your student fight my student for a little bit." Zabuza said panting.

"That sounds fair." Kakashi replied also panting as the mist cleared.

To everyone's surprise Hinata was surrounded by six shinobi who were unconscious. Keiko had two bound at her feet and Sakura had one. Sasuke and Haku continued to trade blows.

"Enough I will end this. Ninja art: Demonic Ice Mirror Dome." Haku called out as the puddles of water that surrounded them started to form mirrors of ice. "Your speed is formidable but it cannot match mine. Especially with this jutsu, you will not win."

"I can take you." Sasuke replied arrogantly.

The ice mirrors formed a dome that encased Sasuke. "You should surrender now and save yourself from the embarrassment of losing to me." Haku commented as Hinata walked close to the dome to look inside. Haku entered a mirror. Haku jumped between the ice mirrors. Haku appeared to be in more than one mirror a time. "Surrender now leaf ninja you cannot win. Whirlpool shinobi please step away from the mirrors as this is this boy's and my fight." Haku requested and Hinata complied as she backed away from the mirrors.

'I have a few tricks up my sleeves until my Sharingan becomes active.' Sasuke thought.

"Now we begin." Haku commented as senbon came from every direction.

Sasuke used a substitution with Hinata to get himself out of harm's way. With this Hinata screamed and became a pin cushion. Hinata looked angrily at Sasuke and then sympathetically at Haku.

Haku appeared next to Hinata. "I am sorry, I did not intend for you to be hurt by this attack. He appears to be both of our enemies. You are a friend of Akemi?" Haku asked and Hinata nodded.

"Sasuke did this to me." Hinata said looking off into the distance down the bridge.

"I did not hit anything vital so you will live. You will pass out in a couple minutes." Haku reassured Hinata.

"She may live but you will not!" Sasuke said as he finished a string of hand signs.

"SASUKE NO!!" Kikiyo and Kakashi yelled as one.

"Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" Sasuke yelled as he blew a fireball at Haku and Hinata.

As the fireball moved towards the two, a killing intent was felt further back on the bridge. A blinding red ball intercepted the fireball right in front of Haku and Hinata. Smoke rolled off of Akemi her shirt was burned off. Naruto thought for a second and looked at Haku and then transformed back to Naruto. Naruto's hair looked very wild and blond. His canines were elongated he had claws. On his stomach was a seal. Naruto was surrounded by red chakra.

"Teme! You hurt Hinata-chan. I will not forgive you. Haku was only trying to disable you not kill you. If you had screwed up the swap Hinata-chan might have been really hurt. You use an ally to remove yourself from harm? You are a traitor and do not deserve to were that headband. You think only of yourself!" Naruto yelled at Sasuke. Naruto then noticed a change in Sasuke's eyes. He now had the undeveloped Sharingan. A single tomoe in his left eye and two in his right.

"Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" Sasuke yelled as he sent another fireball at the three of them.

Naruto screamed a roar and blasted the fireball to nothing. Sasuke angered at this, as he did not realize Naruto was really pissed and was going to take it out on Sasuke.

"Naruto, don't! The council will not like it if you hurt Sasuke!" Kakashi yelled as he moved to try to stop the impending fight.

Zabuza intercepted Kakashi as he swung his zanbatu. Kakashi blocked it with his kunai. "Did you forget you still had me to deal with Kakashi?" Zabuza asked.

Haku started to pull the senbon from Hinata. Hinata nodded her appreciation as the wounds healed quickly. "Naruto, please calm down. You should not be so angry with him." Hinata stated which caused everyone other than Kakashi and Zabuza to look at her in surprise. He involved me in a fight. You are the better person and that is why I love you." Hinata smiled at Naruto. Hinata then looked at Sasuke her eyes had lavender slits for pupils, her nails had become claws and her hair looked messy.

"Sasuke Uchiha, you are a disreputable slime. You wanted me as your betrothed, yet you would use me as a sacrificial lamb for your own gain. You may have activated your Sharingan, but it will never make you anything other than a traitor. You used an ally to protect yourself. That is deplorable. As Naruto already said 'I will never forgive you.' When the Third Hokage and the council hear about this little stunt they will forever destroy any contract your father tricked mine into signing. That is if I let you survive today."

"What do you think you can do about it bitch?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata looked around at everyone. "You have all seen how he treats an ally during a battle." Everyone including Sakura and Ino nodded. "Who would like to have him as an ally or teammate?"

"He is strong…" Sakura quietly commented.

"Strength comes from protecting those you care about. He would just as soon turn you over to an enemy to protect himself rather than protect an ally and work with them to defeat a superior foe. What did your parents teach you? How to betray an ally?" Hinata asked angrily.

"Calm down Hinata-san you are injured and will not be able to fight with Sasuke." Haku stated as he pulled the last senbon from Hinata's leg. "There I am done. The fight was between Sasuke and I. I am sorry you were involved."

"So it is true?" Zabuza asked.

"Yes, it is true. He is the heir to the most powerful bloodline in Konoha, the Sharingan. His name is Sasuke Uchiha. That is why your student will lose, now that his Sharingan has now activated." Kakashi stated boldly.

"Well then let's finish our little game. Ninja art: Hidden Mist Jutsu." Zabuza said as he faded into the mist. "I am the master of the silent kill and will kill you Kakashi." Zabuza boasted.

"Not if you can't deliver a killing blow." Kakashi replied.

"Ninja art: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled as he sent yet another fireball at Naruto, Hinata, and Haku. "Looks like I got them." Sasuke boasted as he looked at the burnt area that the three had occupied.

"Sasuke! You bastard! Attacking your allies!" Keiko yelled angrily.

"Shut up bitch! You have no right to question me, I am Sasuke Uchiha…" Sasuke started to boast only to be interrupted by Keiko.

"The son of the bastard who had my mother kidnapped and forced me to never learn the way of the shinobi! I am Keiko Senju great-great-granddaughter of the Second Hokage! Naruto is my cousin and as such we out rank you in Konoha and especially in Uzu. You are the son of a clan of thieves and traitors! I don't expect you to figure this out but if I were you I would keep my eyes on your opponents not others." Keiko replied smiling as she pointed behind Sasuke.

Sasuke jumped and avoided several senbon. "How did you survive?" Sasuke asked as he landed a few feet away.

"Well you interrupted our discussion on who is going to beat some sense into your teme ass." Naruto snidely replied.

"Bring it blond idiot, I remember your scores from school. You were dead last. I became rookie of the year when I graduated." Sasuke boasted.

"Haku he is all yours." Naruto said as he walked over to Hinata and took her hand. "I would guess that killing him might be bad but I want him to learn from his mistake. He can't do it if he is dead." Naruto smiled a feral grin showing his elongated canines.

"You are a monster." Sasuke stated looking directly at Naruto.

"Ninja art: Demonic Ice Mirror Dome!" Haku yelled as Sasuke was again surrounded by ice mirrors. "Time for a true lesson in speed, Sasuke Uchiha." Haku commented as he appeared in all the mirrors at once.

"Got you!" Zabuza stated as he hit Kakashi making a bloody slash mark on Kakashi's chest.

"Time to end this!" Kakashi stated as he opened a pocket on his vest, a scroll fell out. Kakashi rubbed his thumb over his wound and then made several hand signs. He began to twirl the scroll as he wiped his thumb on the scroll closing it and then setting it on the ground. "Ninja art: Summoning: Earth style: Tracking Fang Jutsu!"

Suddenly several bulges in the surface of the bridge moved towards Zabuza. Zabuza screamed in pain and the mist cleared. Zabuza stood with several dogs hanging from his body and blood flowing from the where the dogs had latched onto Zabuza. "I see you finally got me Kakashi, how did you do it?"

"My ninja hounds hunted you by the scent of my blood on your sword. Now I am going to end you, but not with anything I copied for anyone else. This is one of my own creations. Ninja art: Chidori!" Kakashi explained as his hand glowed and electricity formed in the palm of his right hand.

"His chakra is visible." Zabuza commented in fear.

"Naruto?" Hinata asked as Naruto felt fear run down his spine, Hinata could feel this through their link. Naruto disappeared as Kakashi moved towards Zabuza.

"You bastard!" Naruto yelled as he appeared in front of Kakashi.

"Move or I will kill you!" Kakashi yelled as he drew his arm back. Naruto shook his head as red chakra leaked out form his body.

Haku had just knocked Sasuke with a senbon in pressure point. "Naruto-kun?"

Kakashi pushed his hand towards Naruto. "Well then it is good bye Kyuubi." Kakashi said as he smirked and pushed his hand the final distance to hit Naruto.

"Kakashi!" Kikiyo yelled as she ran towards Naruto, Zabuza and Kakashi. Haku appeared next to Zabuza and caught him as he fell to his knees.

"Thanks kid (cough), but you didn't stop him from getting me. (cough, cough) Haku, if he survives I want you to go with them and help them. I am sorry (cough) I did not tell you (cough) that you were like a (cough) son I never had." Zabuza said as he raised his hand up and touched Haku's cheek.

Kakashi pulled his hand out of Naruto's chest only to have the boy slump to the ground. "Stupid kid, that is not what I wanted but at least both the demons are gone."

Hinata was next to Naruto tears falling from her eyes as she looked at Kakashi with utter hatred. "This is the second time you used that jutsu on him. What makes you think it will work the second time you tried it?" Hinata asked as she showed the wound in Naruto closing. "I want to file a formal complaint again Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha from the Leaf for attacking members of an allied village without provocation with the intent of injuring whirlpool shinobi. What say you Hatake?" Hinata asked angrily.

"I say you are nothing more and a wet behind the ears genin. You know nothing of what it takes to become a shinobi." Kakashi answered. "If he lives I will bring him up on charges of helping a criminal. As for you Haku you will be taken as a missing-nin."

"I have never been a shinobi so I cannot be a missing-nin as you so aptly put it. You have killed Zabuza-sama and apparently nearly killed Naruto-kun or as I know him, Akemi, for this I will bear witness to both Konoha and Uzu of yours and Uchiha-sans dealings." Haku replied in a very annoyed voice.

"You will not be able to witness anything if you are dead." Kakashi threatened.

"You will kill my students and a bystander? Will you also kill Tazuna, and your other genin students Kakashi? As I remember the sentence for attacking to kill a Konoha civilian is either death or imprisonment." Kikiyo stated angrily to Kakashi. "Now stand down or you will have to deal with me!"

"Alright but this is not over Kikiyo…" Kakashi replied as he pushed his headband back over his sharingan eye. Kakashi knew if he was at full strength he could take Kikiyo, but using the chidori and the Sharingan had taken a lot out of him.

"So the great Demon of the mist is nothing when compared to a leaf shinobi. Well I will have this bridge destroyed no matter what you do. I do have to thank you for making sure I don't have to pay that psychopath Zabuza." Gato said from the end of the bridge surround by hundreds of thugs.

Haku angry threw several senbon at Gato as a couple men with lightning headbands blocked the senbon.

"Hey brother look we have a Hyuuga, think the Raikage will reward us for bringing her back? Even a little bit ruffed up or even defiled?" The man with blue hair asked the black haired one.

Hinata disappeared and reappeared behind both of them and touched the back of their heads. They acted like they had been hit by bats and fell forward dead before they hit the ground. "Threaten me and you die, I will not be subjected to the same thing that Naruto-kun was… Never!" Hinata yelled as she turned to Gato. "You dishonor your word. I shall leave you to the people of this town and Haku-kun." Hinata said with her Byakugan active.

Gato laughs as a senbon hits him in the throat taking him over the edge of the bridge. The thugs seem angered to see Gato fall off the bridge. A crossbow bolt, twenty Hinatas, twenty Kikiyos and twenty Narutos with a hole in his chest stopped them in their tracks. Haku and Keiko stood next to them and readied for battle. The thugs decided to run and not fight the town and the shinobi together.

The next week was spent with Kakashi training Sasuke. Haku, Hinata and Keiko spent the week watching over the injured Naruto. Naruto and Hinata explained what the problem between the Uzu and Konoha shinobi was. Haku agreed to join Uzu shinobi ranks even though Kakashi threatened him with imprisonment or death. Haku shrugged of the threats and told Kakashi to shove it. The final vote came from Tazuna who said that Kakashi was nearly breaking their contract. Kakashi told him that he had lied about the mission being a 'C' ranked and had become an 'A' ranked. Tazuna said he would pay Konoha when his town got back on its feet but he would also send a report back to the Hokage.

In the end the bridge was named the 'Great Naruto Bridge' because he had been able to bring the village together by his working with Inari, Haku and Zabuza. All the shinobi headed towards Konoha much to the annoyance of the Konoha shinobi.

--

A/N: Kakashi did use a chidori on Naruto when he was younger, I will explain the Kakashi incident more in later chapters. And yes Kakashi is going to get in some trouble. The council will guard him from most of the damage but Uzu will not like him very much from this point on. Also him being a strong jonin will also give him a buffer. I am sorry for those of you that like Kakashi but he is a lackluster bad guy in this story. I may reform him later. Yes he knows about Naruto being his sensei's son, but he does not know how to deal with the fact that he at one time tried to kill him. There is a deeper truth but that is for later. Well I hope you enjoyed the fight scene. Sorry for jumping between the people fighting but they were all there.

Well until next chapter. And yes Sasuke is going to be in deep trouble when he returns, Mikoto will more than likely have a real heart to heart with her son.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

I hope you enjoy this huge chapter…

Chapter 19 – Trouble for Konoha…

After leaving the bridge and entering Konoha Naruto and Hinata took to wearing cloaks. Sasuke's repeated questioning was ignored. Several miles away from Konoha the two teams split the Konoha shinobi returned to Konoha and the Whirlpool shinobi, plus Haku, headed towards another village.

"You are not going to Konoha to make a report?" Kakashi asked politely.

"No my dear Kakashi. We have another mission to complete, but you can tell the Third we will be there in about a week." Kikiyo replied snidely.

"No hard feelings Naruto?" Kakashi asked playfully.

Naruto stared daggers at Kakashi as Hinata spoke up. "There are no hard feelings Kakashi-sensei." Hinata said in a sweet voice. "He would just like for you to take a couple of fatal blows to the chest and tell him how you feel. He is not fully healed from your last attack and he remembers your previous use of that attack, and you using the Sharingan to seal up the memory. You are an evil man, but we wish that you only get what you deserve, so no, no hard feelings." Hinata smiled as she spoke with the sweetest kindest voice she could.

Kakashi winced in the apparent dichotomy of how he was sure Naruto felt and Hinata spoke. "Thank you Naruto and Hinata. I look forward to seeing you both again. Come on team we have to get back and I have a report to write." Kakashi turned and walked away with his team towards Konoha.

--

The guards at the Konoha gates were bored as no one had come thru the gates in hours. Suddenly both guards looked at each other and then down the road. They saw four figures walking haggardly towards the gate. They recognized the group when they got to the gate. "Team seven reporting back from a successful mission we are going to the Hokage's office to make our report." Kakashi stated as the team walked past the gate and into the village.

The team was ushered into the Hokage's office fairly quickly. "Thank you Hokage for seeing us so quickly. I would like to report that Team seven has successfully completed the protection of the bridge builder mission. Here is the mission scroll I also have to informing you that the mission was upgraded to an 'A' ranked mission." Kakashi reported as he set a scroll on Sarutobi''s desk. Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at Kakashi's statement. "We ran into several missing nin including Zabuza Momichi. We were able to take down both Zabuza and the business tycoon Gato in the process of fulfilling the mission. Tazuna has assured us that they will pay the difference when his village is back on its feet."

Sarutobi removed his pipe and sighed. "Is there anything else you would like to report about the mission?" Sarutobi asked with a smile.

"Nothing other than a lot of personal experience and growth for all the members of my team." Kakashi said as he looked at the girls on his team who seemed to shrink under his stare.

"I see, well then good job team seven and I will give you a week off to rest and recuperate." Sarutobi dismissed the team.

Sasuke had told the girls that he wanted to be alone, and to his surprise the girls didn't argue and even told the local fan girls to leave him alone. As Sasuke neared the Uchiha compound Sasuke felt a presence in a nearby tree. "You don't hide your presence well get out here if you want to talk to me." Sasuke demanded.

An ANBU appeared in front of Sasuke and kneeled. "Forgive the intrusion Uchiha-sama but there is someone who would like to speak with you." The ANBU stated.

"I am assuming you are not talking about the Hokage." Sasuke asked as the ANBU nodded. "Very well lead the way." Sasuke follow the ANBU deeper into town.

--

"Where are we going and what is that large city sensei?" Keiko inquired from their teacher and leader.

"That is the capital of the Fire country and we are going to meet the Daimyou. We need to nip something in the bud." Kikiyo stated with a gleam in her eyes.

--

"Thank you Danzou-sama. You now have all the information I know, I hope you can put it to good use." Sasuke stated as he bowed.

"You have done your village a very deep and honored service by telling me these things. Rest assured if anything comes to light that puts you in a bad situation we will make sure that it is mitigated. Have a good day Sasuke-san" Danzou assured Sasuke with a smile.

Sasuke bowed and left as he thought about what was discussed. Sasuke had told Danzou everything that had happened on the mission including things Kakashi had told him that were a secret, that had seemed to get a smile to walk across Danzou's face making Sasuke happy. Now he was dreading having to go home as he had to deal with his mother and a couple female cousins. At least they were not as bad as the girls on his team and the fan girls.

Sasuke entered the Uchiha compound to see a couple of genin teams working on fixing the damage done on the night of the massacre. He was able to recognize two Hyuuga which brought a scowl to his face. He also recognized an Inuzuka and an Aburame, but he did not recognize the green clad shinobi or the girl with buns in her hair and wearing a tan shirt and brown pants. Both the Hyuuga looked at each other after the scowl then returned to filling the holes in the walls with patch cement.

Sasuke opened the door to his house to find the familiar scent of his mother's cooking. He took off his sandals and headed towards his room after closing the front door. "Mom I am home!" Sasuke yelled deeper into the house.

"Okay Sasuke-kun, clean up and then come down to dinner. We have a few things to discuss." His mother replied.

Sasuke went to his room, stripped, put on a bath robe, grabbed some clean clothes and then proceeded to the bath. He opened the door and was confronted by a nude woman standing right at the door. She appeared to be around nineteen at the oldest. She smirked as Sasuke's jaw hit the floor. She lifted his jaw and kissed him on the cheek. "Sasuke-kun you are a little young for me but my sister might be good for you. Also Danzou-sama wishes to express his thanks for the information you gave him." The woman whispered as she strutted by Sasuke with her towel draped over her shoulder. Sasuke could only watch as the nude woman swayed her hips as if taunting him until she entered one of the guest rooms.

Sasuke felt a trickle of liquid flowing from his nose. "Who was that woman? If I can't have Hinata maybe her sister will help me out with the fan girls and might be more my age." Sasuke quietly spoke to no one in particular. Sasuke entered the bathroom and cleaned up. He could not get the look of the woman who had told him about Danzou being pleased with him and he also could not forget her nude figure as she had both stood in front of him watching him scan her up and down and when she walked away from him.

Sasuke figured since they had guests he would wear a formal kimono. He headed down the stairs to the waiting room. Sitting there were three women, well two and a girl. His mother, the woman from the bath earlier and a girl about his age were sitting talking. The girl looked like a younger version of the older woman. This intrigued Sasuke, maybe the woman was right he might like her sister. That is if she was her sister.

Sasuke enter the room. "Hello mother, I saw that we had guests when I went to clean up." Sasuke smirked at the woman whom he had met earlier. She blushed and smirked back. "I did not get her name and I do apologize for my rudeness." Sasuke said as he bowed. "I am Sasuke Uchiha ladies, I am pleased to welcome you into our house."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow when she saw the shared smirk between her older guest and her son. "Sasuke-kun these are Akane-chan and Kohaku-chan. Both are Uchiha from one of the strong member branches." Mikoto stated as she pointed at the older first and then the younger female.

"It is a please to meet you Sasuke-dono." Kohaku said as she stood and bowed. "May your Sharingan come early."

"Thank you Kohaku-chan, may yours also come early." Sasuke returned the pleasantry. Sasuke activated his Sharingan. "Mother my Sharingan activated during my latest mission."

"That is great Sasuke-kun. I also have some news for you. You will no longer have to deal with the fan girls anymore." Mikoto stated with a smile.

"What do you mean mother?" Sasuke asked perplexed.

"Kohaku-chan has graciously requested that she be betrothed to you. I know she is not one of your fan girls. Are you ok with this?" Mikoto asked sternly.

"Yes as long as she accepts me as master of the clan. And she is strong." Sasuke stated.

"Of course Sasuke-dono. I am already a chunin and only a year your senior." Kohaku replied with a bow.

"Sasuke, you are being rude. She is asking to be your future wife. She is not a trophy to be put on the shelf. She will be living with you the rest of your lives and sharing your intimate moments. She will also be baring your children. She will not be bossed around by you. Do I make myself clear?" Mikoto stated as she released a large amount of killing intent.

Sasuke was surprised by his mother being so forceful. All he had seen of her was the kindly subservient woman to his father. "I… yes mother." Sasuke lowered his head in defeat.

"Kohaku-chan is not a push over Sasuke-kun. She is just being respectful to the son of the head of our clan. She finds you enjoyable to the eyes but wants you to lose the attitude. She of course would not say this in front of a possible mother-in-law to be. I as her older sister will defend her honor in front of Mikoto-sama just the same." Akane sternly stated as Kohaku blushed and nodded.

"You see Mikoto-sama, while I do find Sasuke-kun physically attractive, I am more worried about him being a good husband and clan head. If he cannot prove to be either I will not go through with even the process of the betrothal. I am sorry if I am insulting you Mikoto-sama but I am aware of Sasuke-kun's attitude towards females. I believe part of it stems from the fan girls that chase him all over Konoha but part is a stronger than normal arrogance than most Uchiha have. We all want strong mates but if he does not drop his obsession with his brother than I will have to back out of this potential arrangement." Kohaku stated with a deep bow, she raised her head with a complete and fully activated Sharingan and looked directly at Sasuke.

Mikoto and Akane both smirked as Sasuke felt alone for the first time in his life.

--

Naruto, Hinata, Keiko, Haku and Kikiyo waited patiently outside the office of the Fire Daimyou. The secretary looked up and told them they would be seen now.

All five entered the office and bowed respectfully. "Welcome Whirlpool shinobi. What do I have the pleasure of meeting you this …" The Daimyou looked outside and saw rain. "Sorry it is a dreary day. But how can I help you?" The man asked kindly.

Kikiyo bowed and started to speak. "I am Kikiyo Fenikkusu of Whirlpool, formerly Kikiyo Uchiha of Konoha." Kikiyo stated, this caused the Daimyou to look at her questioningly. "I will explain but first I must introduce my team. Haku master of Ice, Naruto Uzumaki grandson of the leader of Uzu no Sato, Hinata Hyuuga heir to the Konoha Hyuuga, and finally Keiko Senju formerly Keiko Uchiha all formerly of Konoha."

The Daimyou was flabbergasted. "How do I have a full genin team from Whirlpool that are all former Konoha citizens?"

Kikiyo spent the next hour telling the Daimyou about everything that happened beginning with the sealing of the Kyuubi through mission to Wave country. This included everything including Naruto and Keiko's paternity.

To say the Daimyou was perturbed would be an understatement. He was beyond pissed. In his opinion the Konoha and Hyuuga clan councils had over stepped their authority. The Daimyou altered their travel papers to show they were dual citizens of Whirlpool and Fire countries. He also signed off on the betrothal of Naruto and Hinata and voided the one with Sasuke. He was depressed that Haku had decided to join Uzu instead of Konoha but understood after the treatment he had received from Kakashi Hatake. He also assured them that he would be attending the next chunin exams and would like for Kikiyo's team to attend. He would also be cleaning house in Konoha with the help of Sarutobi. He thanked the team for averting war on several occasions and apologized for the behavior of the Konoha shinobi. He handed Kikiyo a scroll that she was to deliver to the Third Hokage. This would be a 'B' ranked mission for the Fire Daimyou.

--

Sasuke invited Kohaku to his room at the insistence of his mother. Sasuke closed the door ready to tell Kohaku what will and will not be tolerated. "Sasuke-kun." Kohaku drags out the kun in an ordering manner. "Let's get something straight. If and I say if, you will be able to deal with clan matter with me only giving advice. But in the home I will be in charge. Do I make myself clear?" Kohaku demanded more than asked.

Sasuke nodded. "How did my mother find you?"

"We are one of the stronger branch families in the Uchiha and we saw that you were having problems with the girls in town." Kohaku stated. "I am also aware you have seen my sister naked. From your reaction to her I can tell you are not a homosexual. Be assured I will have either a similar or better body than her when we are older. Now about your training, you are under Kakashi Hatake, correct?" Kohaku asked.

Sasuke was not sure what to think, this girl was demanding and arrogant all in one. If she turned out to be strong and could help him grow in strength he would not have a problem with waiting on his revenge and settle down with this girl. "Yes he is my jonin sensei, why?"

"He is a lazy bum, he does have a lot of techniques but he will not be as good as having an Uchiha teaching you. So how do you feel about Itachi?" Kohaku asked as she activated her Sharingan.

Sasuke felt anger then an odd sense of contentment seeing Kohaku's eyes. "I hate him for what he did, but if this works out I can forgo my revenge for later." Sasuke said with a smile.

"Activate your Sharingan." Kohaku asked sweetly.

Sasuke felt he had to comply and activated his Sharingan.

"You will do as a mate and husband. We shall seal this with a kiss. You can use passion if you like but this is how we will sign our betrothal. Is that acceptable?" Kohaku said looking for Sasuke's reaction. Sasuke nodded and they kissed. "We are now betrothed I wish to meet my husband-to-be's team so that I can rate their competence." Sasuke just nodded as they left the room.

The next week went by fast as Sasuke not have any team meetings and spent most of his free time talking to Kohaku. She at times seemed cold and distant but at other times warm and caring, hanging on his every word. She even took several occasions to chase off some fan girls.

Sakura and Ino were decidedly absent from Sasuke's life for some reason he could not figure. He did not mind this he actually was happy to be able to get to know Kohaku without having to deal with someone waiting on him with bated breath. Apparently Kohaku did enjoy Sasuke but was not afraid to scold him for acting inappropriately.

--

Naruto and Hinata were wearing cloaks as the team approached the gates of Konoha. They all sensed being watched. Naruto had switched from over the shoulder sheaths to wearing them on his hips. "We have two ANBU to the right and two Hyuuga to the left, possibly chunin." Hinata reported to her team.

The ANBU and Hyuuga blocked the road just a few hundred feet from Konoha. "Halt and state your business." The owl masked ANBU ordered.

"Kikiyo Fenikkusu and team from Whirlpool delivering a scroll from the Fire Daimyou to the Hokage." Kikiyo replied.

"We will take the scroll." The owl stated.

"Sorry not going to happen. We have orders that no one except for the Third is to read this scroll. So please let us through. I also invoke the alliance for free passage. As we are Uzu shinobi." Kikiyo stated as her anger mounted. Haku was also wearing an Uzu headband.

"Get them they are the two the council has a bounty on!" One of the Hyuuga yells as he threw a kunai at Naruto. Naruto pulls out his sword and blocks the kunai.

Kikiyo looks directly at the ANBU. "What is the meaning of this? Why are you attacking my students?" Kikiyo demands angrily.

The ANBU looks at the two Hyuuga as they charge the Uzu team. "What the hell are you doing?" The owl ANBU yelled only to be ignored.

Hinata set herself into her juken stance. "Defense has been established. Will you stand down?" Hinata quietly demanded.

"You are a traitor and we will give you no quarter." The other Hyuuga said as he continued his charge.

Naruto watched the first Hyuuga go for a lethal heart strike at him. Naruto sidestepped the attack and slid his sword through the man's ribs. The man collapsed as Naruto returned to a defensive stance. The man began to cough up blood. "Yield or I will finish it." Naruto said sadly.

Hinata leaned back to avoid a heart strike by the other Hyuuga. She tapped the man's arm on the elbow and shoulder as he pulled back and screamed in pain. "I warn you if you do not yield you will feel more pain worse than that." Hinata threatened anger heard from her voice.

"Cease now or be killed!" The owl ANBU ordered. Both Hyuuga nodded as they knew they were beat and would not be able to do anything other than die in a battle against these two. "Kikiyo-san please have your students reveal themselves."

Kikiyo nodded as Naruto flung back his hood and then wiped his sword clean. Hinata also pulled her hood back to reveal her face.

"You are Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga are you not?" The owl ANBU asked as both nodded. "Why do you wear the headband of Uzu instead of Konoha?"

Naruto pointed his sword towards the downed Hyuuga. "Because of idiots like this." Naruto responded with a tired voice.

"I understand, we will guide you to the Hokage's office." The owl ANBU led them to the gates. There two chunin were standing at the ready to fight if needed. "Go get medical support for those two, one I am sure had a sliced lung the other will have juken injuries to his right side." The owl ordered as one of the chunin jumped off. "I am sorry for the poor welcome for our allies. We will assure your safety inside of town. You may replace your hoods if you like."

Naruto and Hinata nodded thanks to the ANBU as they replaced their hoods.

They made it to the Hokage's tower without any more incidents.

--

"Lord Hokage, we have visitors from Whirlpool." Owl yelled through the door.

"By all means send them in." Sarutobi answered from his desk.

The six entered the office as the other ANBU took up a position outside the door. "Hokage-sama I have disturbing news." Owl reported as Sarutobi nodded for him to continue. "The reason for the escort is because our guests were set upon by two of the chunin guards outside the gates. Only those two were injured. I must say that Uzumaki-san and Hyuuga-sama acquitted themselves well in the engagement. We only intervened to prevent the chunin from wasting their lives. The Uzu shinobi offered quarter and it was taken." Owl said with a bow.

"If it is alright with you Hinata shall I send for you father?" Sarutobi asked caringly.

"That sounds fine, I would enjoy seeing and speaking with my father after so long away. Maybe we can break the genjutsu." Hinata said sadly as Naruto grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Kikiyo handed Sarutobi the scroll from the Fire Daimyou. "We wish to file complaints against Konoha shinobi and deliver this scroll from the Fire Daimyou." Kikiyo said with a bow.

Sarutobi read the scroll his eyes widened the more he read. "Owl go get Hiashi Hyuuga, but give me at least a half hour before he is to arrive here." Sarutobi ordered.

"Hai!" Owl responded and then disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"We wish to file against Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha. You already know about the other two Naruto and Hinata injured we wish to file charges against them too." Kikiyo stated as Sarutobi read the scroll.

"I will look into the other two, but is what is in this scroll true? Sasuke and Kakashi did this to Naruto and Hinata?" Sarutobi asked as he handed Kikiyo the scroll.

Kikiyo read the scroll and finally nodded. "He left out some details but yes it is true."

"I want all of you to recount the mission to the Wave country. In as exact a detail as you can." Sarutobi requested as the team sat down in the chairs on the side of the room.

For the next half hour the team recounts the details of the mission. Sarutobi waits until they finish before speaking. "I am deeply disturbed by what you have told me. You all have my deepest sympathies. Sasuke Uchiha will of course be given the most leeway so far as his actions but Kakashi will be punished for his actions, now and when you were in the village Naruto-kun. The down side is that we will have to reveal your identity to the council to have any disciplinary actions at all. Is this okay with the both of you?" Sarutobi asked knowing that this would effectively bring their identities out into the open.

Naruto smiled at Sarutobi and it warmed his heart. "That sounds fine jiji. Maybe we can actually get some justice here in Konoha. If not we know we can always return to Uzu. I just hate lose the history of the village my father gave his life to defend." Naruto stated sadly.

There was a knock at the door, Naruto and Hinata both put their cowls back over their heads. "Come in…" Sarutobi bellowed.

Hiashi entered the door. "You sent for me Hokage-sama? I was on my way to look at a couple of branch member who were injured doing guard duty outside of the gates."

"They would not be injured if they would listen to the head of the clan and not the clan council. They also would not be injured if they did not attack allies bearing letters from the Fire Daimyou." Hinata stated from behind her cowl.

"They attacked you." Hiashi looked Kikiyo and her team. "You appear to be a genin team from Uzu. I am deeply sorry if they attacked you. But what do you mean by saying things about the clan council." Hiashi asked confused.

"Because they want me and my betrothed dead, they fear something but will not let the head of the clan in on their worry." Naruto commented.

"I do not understand. Do I know you? You seem to know some things but have not reveal yourselves. Please if you know of a problem with my clan council that is causing problems for an ally like Uzu, I would love to know this as they are causing me problems within of my clan." Hiashi nearly pleaded.

Naruto and Hinata slowly removed their cowls and looked at Hiashi. They both saw the conflict in his face. He was happy to see them and he did recognize them. They also saw the anger generated by the genjutsu towards Naruto and Hinata for being a failure. Hiashi raised a hand as if to strike then fell to his knees grabbing his head and then screamed in pain.

"Kikiyo do you think you can do anything?" Sarutobi asked anxiously.

"Fugaku was stronger than me but it may have had enough time for me to become stronger and the seal to weaken." Kikiyo activated her Sharingan and then looked directly into Hiashi's eyes. Five minutes later both were on the floor panting with smiles on their faces.

"Thank you, whoever you are. I have been tormented for years by this nightmare." Hiashi said happily.

"Father are you finally okay?" Hinata asked as she and Naruto help Hiashi into a chair.

"I will be." Hiashi said as he cupped Hinata's face in his hands. "You have grown beautiful like your mother. I am so sorry for the way I treated you all those years ago." Hiashi look appreciatively at Naruto. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter for me. She is your wife to be, did you know that?" Hiashi asked as Naruto nodded with a smile.

"I know and I love her very much. Kido said to tell you 'hi' when you are better. You look better." Naruto said as he smiled. "So what is the status of the second betrothal?"

"Null and void, I hear that Mikoto has other plans for Sasuke anyways, since I didn't allow a marriage with my other daughter. I am thinking she wants him to marry inside his own clan to help bolster their numbers in several years." Hiashi replied as he started to look at Kikiyo. "You are an Uchiha are you not?"

"Not any more, the clan betrayed me and Keiko here so we are in new clans?" Kikiyo replied with a smile.

"New clans? What do you mean?" Hiashi asked.

"Well as you know Fugaku is a corrupt man, or at least he was." Kikiyo asked as Hiashi nodded. "Well… he and the Uchiha took Minato's sister and put her within the Uchiha ranks, they also forbid her children from becoming shinobi. Let me introduce Keiko Senju, as her father did not have a family name they remained Uchiha, instead of Namikaze as they should have been. So as not to cause a problem with the name Namikaze here in Konoha they chose the last name of Keiko's great-great-grandfather." Kikiyo explained.

For the next few hours they told Hiashi their tales.

--

A female ANBU wearing a wolf mask appeared next to Kakashi. "Kakashi-sempai Mikoto Uchiha 'requests' your presence at her home in the Uchiha compound. And do not take any more time than is necessary to arrive there, she prefers punctuality." Wolf said sternly as she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Don't want to keep the head of the Uchiha clan waiting." Kakashi said to no one in particular as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Kakashi appeared in front of the Uchiha compound gates greeted by two female chunin guards who both just smiled and nodded for him to enter. Kakashi walked down the streets noticing the work that had been done to fix up the streets. It had taken years for the Uchiha to get over the massacre and now they wanted to restore their section of the village and their clan. 'Not bad for a group of woman with only about five males in the whole clan, all under the age of thirteen.' Kakashi thought as he walked up to the door of the clan head and knocked. The door opened to reveal Sasuke and a girl that appeared to be around Sasuke's age maybe a year older. "Hi Sasuke, how are you?" Kakashi asked.

"Fine thanks, we have to get going. Oh, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked.

This threw up red flags for Kakashi as Sasuke was being too nice. Sasuke and the girl were also wearing formal kimonos. "Yes Sasuke." Kakashi answered.

"Can I bring Kohaku-chan to our next team meeting and training session?" Sasuke asked as he nodded to the female next to him.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "Sure that would be fine. Kohaku-chan was it? You are chunin from last year's graduating class am I right?" Kakashi asked as he continued to smile.

Kohaku bowed deeply. "I am honored to have been noticed by the great copy-cat shinobi of Konoha. You are correct that I am chunin, I apologize if I am imposing upon your team at all. I am just looking out for Sasuke-kun's interests. We need to be going now Sasuke-kun. It was a pleasure meeting you Hatake-sama." Kohaku bowed again as she and Sasuke left the house.

A voice came from further inside. "You may enter Kakashi-san. Please close the door behind you."

Kakashi entered and removed his sandals. He walked down the hallway to the greeting room where he found Mikoto and the Wolf ANBU standing waiting for him to enter. "Welcome Kakashi, please come in and sit we have a few things to discuss." Mikoto said as she offered Kakashi a seat.

Kakashi bowed and entered the room. He then stood before the sofa and waited for the women to sit. The Wolf ANBU took off her mask to reveal Akane who sat on the opposite sofa from Kakashi. Mikoto sat next on the plush chair to Kakashi's right. Kakashi sat on the sofa waiting for the hammer to fall. Nothing was said for a couple minutes. Finally Mikoto spoke up.

"I am guessing you are wondering why I brought you here and why Akane-chan is here." Mikoto asked appearing to know his question.

"Well frankly yes I would like to know why I am here." Kakashi replied happily.

"Well Kakashi, it has come to my attention that you and my son are causing international incidents. I have devised a way to help get out of this mess with as little pain as possible. You may also even get some pleasure out this arrangement." Mikoto smirked as did Akane. Kakashi internally shuddered at what the women might have planned.

"What international incident?" Kakashi asked playing innocent.

"I have heard you attacked and nearly killed the grandson of the leader of our ally Whirlpool, yet again." Mikoto said flatly. "I also know you threatened a Whirlpool team with death. I can offer you some protection from the death sentence that it would entail but you will have to take my offer." Mikoto said with a sinister grin on her face.

"What type of deal are we talking about?" Kakashi asked.

Mikoto nodded to Akane. "You are to marry me." Akane stated bluntly.

"Is that all? And how old are you anyways?" Kakashi asked.

"There is a little more to it than that but essentially that is it. I will be twenty by the end of this month. I know you're twenty-seven and that you should be settling down soon to have a family soon if you are ever to have one. I know about your pension for these books." Akane held a copy of Icha Icha paradise in her hand. "I do not care if you read them, just so long as you give me children when I ask you too. There will be no affairs and we can start a Hatake clan if you like. I will even cosplay the book with you if you like. Outside of missions you will either be or act the roll of a proper husband. Do you have any problems with this Kakashi?" Akane asked without emotion on her face.

"How long do I have to think about it?" Kakashi asked not sure how he would hand this.

"A few days, the next council meeting will be in three days and the subject of you and Sasuke-kun I am sure will come up. You have until then to decide and either marry Akane-chan or take your chances with the council. Oh and if you accept the offer, DO… and I repeat DO NOT BE LATE for the wedding. You will hurt poor Akane's heart and we don't want that to happen do we?" Mikoto asked threateningly.

"If that is all I have a few things to think about and it was a pleasure to meet you Akane Uchiha. You can tell Sasuke-kun that there will be a meeting tomorrow. You are invited if you would like to join us and your duties do not interfere with being there at say eight am. I would advise you Akane-chan that you show up at ten am or so." Kakashi commented as he got up to leave.

"One other thing Kakashi-kun." Akane said flirtingly and catching his attention.

"Yes Akane-chan?" Kakashi looked at her questioningly.

"I also require two additional things for this arrangement to proceed. First I want to see under your mask, secondly our deal with be sealed with a kiss, on the lips not through a mask." Akane stated.

"I will give you my answer at the end of tomorrows training session with my team." Kakashi answered as he bowed to both women and left.

Making sure Kakashi had left Mikoto finally spoke. "So he is acceptable to you Akane-chan?" Mikoto asked

"Depending on what is under the mask, yes, even then we would produce strong children that would be able to help restore the Uchiha clan. I might even come to enjoy being a wife to him. And if he has learned anything from his books it will make me all the happier." Akane smirked. "Also your son is a healthy boy of nearly thirteen."

"What are you talking about?" Mikoto asked.

"Earlier before dinner he and I met as I left the bath." Akane smirked at remembering.

"Okay what happened?" Mikoto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I wasn't wearing my towel. He did the full look and got a bloody nose from his viewing pleasure. I told Kohaku and she said she used it to her advantage. She told Sasuke that she would have a body similar to mine when she grew up. This changed his attitude some." Akane smirked.

"You girls are just so silly. So does she love Sasuke-kun?" Mikoto asked.

"She says he will do as a mate. He needs a lot of help when dealing with subject of Itachi but she thinks she can eventually bring him around, maybe with the help of his teammates. No she is not in love with him. She thinks she will eventually find comfort in his arms or she will force is out of him." Akane answered with a smirk.

--

A/N: As you can tell I am giving Sasuke and Kakashi strong women to mitigate their flaws. We shall see if this helps at all. I figure a female to torture them would be better than castration for both of them. I have not ruled out partial castration for Sasuke, but this will be more fun. I know the poor fan club will be disbanded. What will happen to Sakura and Ino? What was in the document that the Fire Daimyou sent to Sarutobi? These questions and more will be raised in the next chapter… Ha you though I was going to answer them didn't you?

Oh Spiritwolf31, yes Zabuza is dead. Haku has been informally integrated into Kikiyo's team until they make it back to Uzu.

Omake: (Lime present)

Kakashi was thinking hard and didn't see the kunai that was headed towards him. It hit him in the shoulder digging deeply into the joint. Anko stepped up and pulled the kunai from his shoulder and licked the blood on the kunai. "What has you all spooked Kakashi?"

Kakashi looked up at Anko his eyes opened wide as he saw up Anko's skirt. She wore nothing under it. Kakashi's nose began to bleed. Kakashi passed out from blood loss.

Kakashi woke up a little later not sure what was going on. The last thing he saw was under Anko's skirt. He smiled then reached over and touched his right shoulder, it was bandaged but he also noticed he was not wearing any clothes. And to his surprise neither was Anko who was sitting on top of him. "Okay Kakashi one little fling and we talk about your issue." Anko said as she grinded again Kakashi.

Kakashi complied and they had sex for the next half hour.

"Okay Kakashi spill it…" Anko ordered.

"Looks like I am going to have to tie the knot." Kakashi stated bluntly.

"Why I don't want to get married. I like our 'make out sessions.'" Anko said with a smirk.

"Not to you, but to an Uchiha." Kakashi stated.

"Why an Uchiha?" Anko wondered out loud.

"Well… my past has come back to haunt me and the Uchiha are offering some protection if I marry one of them. She isn't bad looking either. I am thinking I will have to take the offer." Kakashi said thoughtfully.

"Hey that is great, you can get out of this masochism that we are in and I can go after Iruka." Anko said with a smirk. "I say go for it. You can have kids and they can make your life hell."

"Great now you are against me." Kakashi playfully replied.

"She might do you some good. I am also getting tired of this Kakashi, you are not as much fun as you used to be." Anko said with a sigh. "I say take the Uchiha up on the offer."


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I own not Naruto…

Chapter 20 – Naruto and Hinata strike back…

Sakura and Ino were both eyeing the girl standing next to Sasuke as they talked quietly. What really bothered both the girls was that both Sasuke and the girl had ignored them as they approached and were both wearing the Uchiha fan on the backs of their collars. The girl also wore a chunin jacket.

"Sakura?" Ino asked sounding tired.

"Yeah Ino?" Sakura responded quickly.

"Who is that girl and how is she getting our emo boy to smile?" Ino asked with an annoyed look on her face.

"I have no idea. I think she is from his clan though. I am wondering what they are talking about as they seem to not want us to be involved in their little discussion. Shall we go and introduce ourselves?" Sakura asked as Ino nodded.

Ino and Sakura walked over to Sasuke and Kohaku. Kohaku turned and sized up the girls. "So you must be the blond bimbo and she is the pink banshee?" Kohaku asked in an antagonistic voice.

Sakura fell for the bait. "Pink banshee, why I ought to." Sakura said as she raised her fist at Kohaku.

"Ought to what? Train some more, become stronger so you can support Sasuke-kun? Yes you should, he is your teammate and a member of the Uchiha clan. He is an elite shinobi, and you are a simple no-name with no skills so to speak. You have pathetic chakra reserves and I am sure your book knowledge has helped you oh so much so far." Kohaku said in the most condescending voice she could.

"Who are you and how dare you talk to my teammate and friend like that?" Ino asked as she defended her friend.

"I am Kohaku Uchiha, second in last year's class behind Neji Hyuuga. I am also Sasuke's fiancé. That is why I am talking to your friend and top fan girl of my Sasuke-kun. I am here to defend my territory and put you both on the straight and narrow when it comes to Sasuke. I am also here to try to beef up your skills so that you are better support to Sasuke-kun. Now tell me what type of chakra training you have had." Kohaku demanded.

Sakura and Ino were shocked into responding without thinking. "We know how to climb trees with chakra and also how to walk on water." Ino responded.

"See Sasuke-kun this is how to be a leader and a chunin." She turned to the girls. "I will work with you personally after your normal training and after your missions and as time permits." Kohaku told the girls while she grinned evilly at them.

--

Naruto's team stayed the night in a local hotel. Hiashi came and got them in the morning. Naruto and Hinata had taken one room while Kikiyo and Keiko took the other in the two bedroom hotel suite. Hiashi knocked on the door as Naruto answered wearing only his pajama bottoms. Naruto led him into the living room and headed down the hall towards one of the rooms. Hinata, Keiko and Kikiyo all appeared in the hallway wearing night gowns. Hiashi was floored by the sight of Kikiyo in her night gown and was wondering how Naruto was not a pervert for seeing so many near naked females. The whole team seemed to go about their morning routine without noticing how much or little any one member of the team was wearing.

Naruto came out of the room just as Hinata entered the room. They kissed as they passed each other and Naruto came into the living room. "Sorry for the wait would you like something to drink Hiashi-sama?" Naruto asked as he headed towards the kitchenette.

"Did you just kiss my daughter Naruto-kun?" Hiashi asked expecting Naruto to try to deny or cover up the fact of Naruto and Hinata kissing.

"Yes sir, Hiashi-sama we were kissing. Did you want milk, water or juice?" Naruto asked with a smile.

"Juice would be fine Naruto-kun. Why are you so easy going with Hinata's father asking you if you kissed her?" Hiashi asked Naruto as Naruto returned from the kitchenette with a couple glasses of juice.

"Here you go Hiashi-sama. First Hinata-hime and I love each other." Naruto raised his hand to stop any questions from Hiashi. "Yes I know 'how can kids our age be in love?' Well a little fox told me a few things. That is after I saved her life from two Hyuuga, an Uchiha and a Mist nin. Well my uncle saved us from the Cloud nin but I saved her from her injuries." Naruto explained.

"What do you mean?" Hiashi asked as he sipped the juice.

"The day we disappeared you had been exceedingly hard on Hinata-hime, we do forgive you as it was the genjutsu from Fugaku-teme. She decided to come see me for advice and help as we had met through Kurenai-sensei. She knew where I lived so she waited there, while I was attacked by Mizuki-teme. I was able to get away and get home. I found Hinata-hime injured and wanting to leave the village like I did. That is when two Hyuuga chunin broke into my apartment and attempted to attack us." Naruto took a breath and then a drink of his juice.

"Why would Hyuuga attack you? I am confused. I understand why you wanted to run. But where would you go?" Hiashi asked.

"We were and still are kids, we understand now it was stupid and that we were lucky that my uncle showed up when he did." Naruto stopped and looked up to see the females all dressed and heading down the hall towards the males in the living room. "Juice is on the counter for you." Naruto said past Hiashi to a chorus of 'Thank you Naruto-kun.'

"Here is the short version. I know I contain the Kyuubi." Naruto lifted his shirt to show the half seal on his stomach. "Yes I know it is only half the seal."

Hinata sat next to Naruto and raised her shirt showing the other half of the seal. She then pulled her shirt down just enough to show the small scar running from her left collarbone to under shirt somewhere else on her chest. Hiashi looked stunned. "Yes father, we share the seal. This was a gift from Naruto-kun to me in a way. He saved my life by using the Kyuubi's chakra to heal me. Unlike him I was left with a scar. Now I contain half the Kyuubi. Naruto-kun contains the other half. For this reason we share everything including our love for each other. We became very fond of each other quickly enough. After that we then found out that we were betrothed. We were so happy. Then we also found out that Fugaku Uchiha had tricked you into signing a second betrothal document between Sasuke, his youngest son, and me the heir to the Hyuuga." Hinata took a drink of her juice.

"So you know most everything that happened. Did you know I asked for an autopsy of your mother after her death and the clan council forbid it?" Hiashi asked.

"No I didn't. Do you suspect foul play father?" Hinata asked as she knitted her hand into Naruto's.

"Not at first until the doctor died of mysterious circumstances. Are you ready to take your place as heir to the family?" Hiashi asked.

"No father not yet, we are not truly ready to reveal ourselves as we figure both the clan council and village council are against us. We know the clan council has a bounty on our heads. The reason Kodai Hyuuga returned in shame from his mission to Uzu." Hinata explained.

"We also know the village has not changed much but we have made some steps to improve it." Naruto looked angry and sighed. "Like taking care of Mizuki-teme. Now all we need to do is get rid of Kakashi-teme and Sasuke-teme."

"You did not tell me all that happened on the mission did you?" Hiashi asked as his brow furrowed.

Naruto shook his head. "We developed a special henge that allows us to take the form of, I mean the actual form of someone else. For our protection we change into the opposite gender." Naruto set his glass down and made a hand sign. He transformed into a female with red hair and the same figure as Hinata. "Use your Byakugan you will find that I appear to be female."

Hiashi did as told and surprise showed on his face. "How is this possible?"

"It has to do with our large chakra reserves mostly. But we find it more efficient than the normal henge which is genjutsu which I am terrible at. This one takes a lot more chakra than a normal henge. With bounties on our lives we decided that being the opposite gender would be helpful. So we know every inch of each other's body so we can pull off this jutsu without fail. And no I have not violated your daughter, she is too special to me to do that and after what Mizuki tried to do I would never attempt to do that." Naruto said sternly.

"What did Mizuki do?" Hiashi asked questioningly.

Naruto looked away with pain in his/her eyes. "Mizuki attempted to rape Naruto-kun while he was in this form. At the time we were using different names I was Takara, and Naruto was Akemi. We have found a good life in Uzu father. Kido treats us very well, like his grandchildren." Hinata replied as she rubbed Naruto's back in an attempt to soothe him. Naruto released the henge and returned to his normal form.

"I see, I would like for you and your team to come with me to the Hyuuga compound I am inviting Lord Hokage also so we can clean house and set the family straight. You should also take the time to meet your sister. I believe that she would like to have a sister." Hiashi offered.

--

"Very well Hiashi, I will come with you to your clan meeting. It is just so unexpected." Sarutobi agreed as he got out of his chair. He followed Hiashi to the hotel where the Whirlpool team was staying. They met and headed to the Hyuuga compound without a word. The guards saw who had arrived at the gates of the compound and bowed deeply to all the present. They entered the compound as it started to rain hard.

They left their sandals at the entrance and headed to the clan meeting hall. Hinata and Naruto kept their cowls tight so that no one would see their faces. Hiashi slid the door open and bowed as he allowed the Hokage and then bade the Whirlpool team to enter the chamber. He followed right behind them and closed the door.

"What is the meaning of this Hiashi?" One of the elders asked as lightning flashed in the background.

"We have guests from the Whirlpool and two of them are from our clan. Will you please welcome them as you would any other visiting dignitary?" Hiashi asked the elders as he smirked internally. 'This should be good.'

(Flashback Hokage's office)

"You want to what?" Sarutobi asked as if offended.

"I want you to offer your protection to Naruto and Hinata. And I would like for you to be present when I present them to the clan elders so that they can finalize the betrothal." Hiashi stated with a smile.

Sarutobi was disturbed by what Hiashi was proposing and most of all by his smile. Hiashi's plan was to flush out the traitors in the clan by presenting Naruto and Hinata as relatives and he needed Sarutobi to help protect the genin from the elders. "Very well Hiashi, I will come with you to your clan meeting. It is just a little bit unexpected." Sarutobi agreed as he got out of his chair.

(End flashback)

Sarutobi just shook his head slightly as he knew the trouble that was going to be coming. 'This is just a prelude to the actual village council, so I should be ready for this. At least Naruto and Hinata have some skill and might surprise these old farts.' Sarutobi chuckled as his internal insults to the elder Hyuuga.

"Very well, but why do they wear cloaks and they do not show their faces?" The same elder asked with an annoyed look on his face.

"We fear the council." Naruto and Hinata said as one.

"I am Aimi Hyuuga. Why would children fear the Hyuuga clan council?" An elderly female Hyuuga asked.

"For there are some within this council that wish us harm." Hinata said in a very quiet but threatening voice.

"How dare you threaten us child!" The male Hyuuga yelled at Hinata and stood.

Naruto stepped forward and threw back the cape to reveal his sword strapped to his waist. "She threatens those who threaten us. If you have not threatened us then you have nothing to fear. If otherwise you must fear our wrath." Naruto said in a deep growl.

"This council has taken a bounty on two certain individuals and I want names!" Hiashi yelled angrily.

About a third of the council looked confused the other two thirds looked angry. That was all Hiashi needed as he called all of the confused ones up to his side. "Come to me and I will tell you about this those of you that are confused." Hiashi stated to the gathering.

One elderly Hyuuga walked quietly to the back of the room and tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge.

"Going somewhere Gorou?" Hiashi asked inquisitively.

"Why are the doors locked Hiashi?" Gorou asked angrily.

"Children you may remove your cowls." Hiashi ordered as Naruto and Hinata removed their cowls.

"They should be dead!" An elder yelled as he turned he fell with a senbon in his neck.

Hiashi looked at the confused council members. "You see my daughter and her fiancé have returned but they also bring news of this clan's council betraying both the clan head and the village. You see Hinata-chan's fiancé is none other than Naruto Uzumaki, son of Minato Namikaze, and Kushina Uzumaki. Grandson to the leader of Uzu no Sato, grandnephew to both Sanin Tsunade Senju and Jiriaya, so what do you have to say for yourselves?" Hiashi asked the larger group of elders that showed their anger and contempt for the children.

"He is nothing more than a demon and she is a weakling. Why should we worry about putting a bounty on their heads?" Haruki asked angrily.

"Haruki Hyuuga, you do not understand the position you put the Hokage in by yours and the other disgraceful elders' actions." Hiashi stared down Haruki as he spoke.

"What position?" Hakuri asked with a confused look on his face.

Sarutobi cleared his voice. "You see, Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage." This brought gasps from around the room. "You now understand why you have attacked your village? That is not all. As you know Naruto is the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Jinchuuriki are supposed to be military secrets for hidden villages. The Kyuubi was running loose and the Yondame saved the village by creating one for our village. His last wish was for Naruto to be thought of as a hero." Sarutobi paused to let this sink in.

"You see your actions forced a weapon and an excellent shinobi to leave the Leaf. Your actions also pushed a second excellent shinobi to also leave the Leaf. Did you know that Naruto and Hinata were betrothed on his fourth birthday?" Sarutobi asked the assembled elders.

"Who cares, he would corrupt the clan with his demonic ways." Hideki Hyuuga stated.

"You do not understand the nature of a jinchuuriki. They are in control most of the time. The demon has little to no influence. If Naruto was truly the demon, we would not be here to talk about the subtleties of sealing and this from a clan that uses a seal to control its family members. But we are talking about the implications of this council, at least of those council members who authorized the assassination attempts on both Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga." Sarutobi sighed.

"You did not figure the larger implications of what you did. Naruto is the grandson of an allied village, Uzu no Sato. They are allied with Iwa no Sato, the village hidden in the rock. Do you want another war with them?" Sarutobi asked as he looked at the room of shaking heads. "Naruto is the personal friend of the Tsuchikage. He is also a personal friend to the Hokage." Sarutobi exclaimed as several faces went to pale in the audience.

"I think of him as a grandson as much as I do Konohamaru. You see your clan council has put me in a position I am not happy to be in. You authorized the attack on a child who I feel is like a grandson, and his fiancé. There are also others who hold these two dear. You see this clan's council is facing two Kages, two Sannin, a village leader, the whole Uzu Hyuuga clan, most the rest of the Uzu village clans if I know them. Do you think you will last long against those odds?" Sarutobi asked.

"That will not matter if we kill them now!" Hideki yelled as he ran at Naruto ready to strike.

Naruto ducked and drew his sword in a fluid motion. Naruto was standing right foot forward with his sword extended with most of his weight on his forward foot. Hideki stood a couple feet behind Naruto almost frozen in place. Then everyone noticed Naruto's sword stained red. Naruto pulled out a cloth and wiped the sword as he replaced it in the sheaf. Hideki double over in pain as a red area on his left side started to spread.

"Hurry he needs medical attention." Kaito stated as he stood and readied himself to fight Naruto or Hinata.

"Will you repeal the bounty?" Naruto asked as his eyes turned red and had slits. "I will injure or kill as many as it takes to get it repealed."

"You would let this demon threaten us Hiashi?" Yuuta Hyuuga asked.

"You are not a very good listener, are you?" Naruto asked as he eyed Yuuta.

Naruto returned to his batojutsu stance. Hinata moved to his side as Yuuta advanced. Naruto side stepped to the left as Hinata reached out a hand and tapped Yuuta on the chest to have him fall next to Hideki. "You threaten my fiancé and me! Did you think we would not fight as a team?" Hinata angrily stated.

Keiko watched as she saw another Hyuuga coming from the side of Hinata. "Mokoton: Wood spikes!" Keiko yelled as the wood of the floor turned into spikes and impaled the hapless Hyuuga that was going to attack Hinata. "You mess with them you mess with our whole team. How many of you are going to have to either be injured or die to figure out that this is a battle you can't win?"

"We out number them four to one, we can take them." A voice was heard from the back of the room as the man suddenly gagged on a kunai that was imbedded in his throat.

"You are forgetting a couple things. I am their jonin sensei. You also are against Hiashi and your very own Hokage in this fight, and possibly the ones who side with us who did not know about your evil plans." Kikiyo stated with a devious smile.

Twenty minutes later as the red chakra receded from both Naruto and Hinata as Hiashi began to speak. "So does what is left of the council feel she is not fit to be heir and is still a weakling?"

Aimi kneeled before Hinata and Hiashi. "I will acknowledge that she is fit to be heir, even without the demonic chakra she seems to have acquired." Aimi smirked at Naruto. "I am guessing we have you to thank for that little thing do we not?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Well sort of. Hinata-chan can tell you all about it if you like."

"Please I would like to know about my granddaughter and what she has been up to. We can have others clean up this mess. Thank you Sarutobi for helping clean house in the Hyuuga." Haru Hyuuga thanked Sarutobi as he bowed.

Of the original forty-five members of the clan council there were ten left, including Hinata's grandfather, Hiashi's father-in-law, and Hiashi's aunt. Everyone had been injured by the fighting but Naruto and Hinata seemed to be the fastest to heal. Hinata worked on the wounded as the group left the room and Hiashi asked some branch member to clean up the room for him, they happily complied.

"Oh by the way Kikiyo, I am going to write up a mission for your team for helping me to handle this mess. And tell that old man Kido that 'I am sorry' and 'Thank you so very much for looking after them for me.'" Hiashi commented as they found their way to the bathhouse to clean up.

--

Three people approached the Konoha gates a dark hair woman in a kimono, a blond with a large chest and a man with white hair wearing a red vest on a green gray ninja suit with a headband with the kanji for 'oil' on it.

"I am so going to kill them if they so much as hurt Naruto-kun." The blond woman exclaimed as the three walked past the entrance gate.

"Calm down hime. You can hurt them later, first we need to talk to them and then we can kill the council." The white haired man said.

Both of the guards watched the group and gulped as they felt sorry for anyone who ran afoul of the group that had just entered Konoha without being asked for papers.

--

A/N: Looks like the council is really in trouble. Who came to town and is not happy with the people of Konoha. With the Hyuuga council is no longer a problem. Hopefully the village council will not be such a slaughter. Also Kakashi will have some questions to answers. Will the council push Naruto like the clan council did, will it end in bloodshed? I won't tell…

Sorry no Omake this chapter…


	21. Chapter 21

Claimer: I own the story line and not the characters.

The meeting with the council has arrived but how will it end up? Will the council choose to hurt Naruto further and risk war or will they submit to Naruto and apologize?

Thanks for the catch EDelta88, I fixed it as soon as I got your message.

Chapter 21 – Meet the council… Asses show their moons…

Naruto and Hinata were happy but not pleased. They had just gone through a second session with Inoichi Yamanaka to find out if Naruto was telling the truth about Kakashi. The first session did not go well at all.

(Flashback)

"I don't see why you will not just take me at my word about this. I am a shinobi for Kami sake." Naruto whined.

"You are also nearly a missing nin from Konoha and your word against Kakashi is not good enough. I'm sorry but he is a respected shinobi…" Inoichi stated but interrupted by Naruto bursting into laughter.

"Respected? Respected? Like how this village was supposed to care and keep me safe, and treat me like a hero like my father wanted. I call bullshit!" Naruto stated bluntly.

"Naruto-kun! Be nice!" Hinata ordered. Naruto immediately changed his tone.

"Sorry…" Naruto said in a long drawn out drawl.

Inoichi laughed as it felt like he was watching a married couple not a couple of young genin. "It is alright Naruto, we'll work this out. Now I just need to you to relax and we shall begin." Inoichi said in a soothing voice.

"Oh wait you should watch out…" Naruto said but trailed off as Inoichi performed his jutsu.

"Ninja art: Mind Entrance Jutsu." Inoichi said as he slumped over in his chair and entered Naruto's mind.

Hinata seemed to nod off as soon as Naruto did.

(Mindscape)

"This is different. Usually a mind is blank not a open field." Inoichi commented.

"How dare you trespass in my kits mind without my permission!" Kyuubi stated in very angry voice.

Inoichi looked at the woman in a long red kimono with long red hair. It then struck him that this beautiful woman before him had nine waving tails behind her and blood red eyes with slits for pupils.

"Greetings I am Inoichi Yamanaka. I am here…" Inoichi started to explain but was cut off.

"You enter without permission. What do you have to say for yourself?" Kyuubi asked.

Naruto and Hinata suddenly appeared next to the Kyuubi.

"Hi baa-chan. He is looking for evidence that Kakashi hit me with his stupid lightning attack." Naruto said happily.

"What type of evidence do you want from my kit?" Kyuubi asked.

"Why do you call him your kit? He is not a baby fox." Inoichi asked.

Kyuubi rolled her eyes. "Stupid humans and their not believing what they are told. Fine! Enter the castle and open one of the black doors. I think it is labeled 'lost memories'." Kyuubi pointed to a castle on the hill close to them.

Inoichi entered and looked for the door. What he found disturbed him to no end. He vomited in the first five minutes, but it took him thirty to find the right memory. Apparently both Kakashi and the Uchiha liked to torture Naruto and then make him forget. He came to understand why the Kyuubi was being so protective of Naruto. He also happened upon the memory of Naruto saving Hinata.

Inoichi threw up after he broke the jutsu and said he would be back to help Naruto to deal with some of the pain if he could.

(End Flashback)

The second session was the day before they were going to go before the village council. Inoichi found that Naruto and Hinata's minds were linked through the seal and he could work with both of the children in fixing their emotional state. He found Naruto very likable but also not as developed mentally as he would have expected.

--

The village council chamber was packed with both the clan council and the village council. The room was filled to capacity with the team from Whirlpool plus Haku, team 7 minus Kakashi, Kohaku, two Sanin, Shizune, the village elders and the Hokage rounded out the cast of characters that were present.

"We are gathered here to put to rest the baseless charge of Kakashi Hatake attacking a civilian and an allied shinobi with an assassination ninjutsu." Koharu stated to the council group.

Naruto shifted forward almost knocking his cowl off of his head but was restrained by Kikiyo. All the member of the Whirlpool delegation were wearing cloaks and had their cowls pulled over their heads.

"We are also here to put to rest the baseless charge of Sasuke Uchiha acting inappropriately towards an allied shinobi. How plead you Sasuke? Seeing as Kakashi is being his normal self and perpetually late." Koharu asked Sasuke.

"I plead not guilty to the charge." Sasuke stated as boldly as he could muster.

"You forgot a few charges Koharu-chan." Sarutobi reminded her of the other outstanding charges. "How do you plead to those charges Sasuke?" Sarutobi asked.

"Again, I plead not guilty." Sasuke replied without batting an eye.

"So you deny attacking my daughter in plain sight of others? Forcibly removing a towel in the bathroom?" Hiashi asked pointedly.

Sasuke looked Hiashi in the eyes, he turned on his Sharingan, and Hiashi activated his Byakugan. "Yes, I deny it." Sasuke replied angrily.

"Sasuke! Deactivate your Sharingan before you bring down the Hyuuga upon the clan. Do you want a clan war?" Mikoto angrily yelled at Sasuke as Kohaku slapped him on the back of the head.

Sasuke instantly deactivated his Sharingan and looked at Kohaku who just sighed. "For a genius you really are an arrogant idiot." Kohaku said loud enough for the council to hear. She then knelt before Hiashi. "Please forgive my future husband. We have only been engaged a week and I am working on his manners but they still need work. Please forgive him."

"He is like his father. That and other reasons are why I will not honor the betrothal. I will spare the Uchiha their destruction but if that boy steps out of line again I will ask for his head, husband to be or not. Mikoto-san your husband hurt me and my family, and your son is continuing that tradition. How do you plan to rectify this?" Hiashi asked politely. "Your son is even lying to our faces."

"I know he is lying, Hiashi-san. I am just am not sure why he is doing it. This is the reason I have set both Sasuke and his sensei up with trustworthy women so that they do not cause my clan or the village any more political trouble. As of now Sasuke is regaled to 'D' rank missions only, and all pay will be sent to Uzu as reparations." Mikoto said with a sigh.

"Are you not also putting my daughter into a position where she is being punished for your son's actions?" Inoichi asked as he glared at Mikoto.

Mikoto sighed. "Very well, I will not restrict the level of the missions he can be on but all the money collected will be sent to Uzu as reparation. Will that do?" Mikoto acquiesced.

"Why are you admitting your son's guilt when it has not been proven?" Koharu asked.

"Because either the council is blind or they want a war with Uzu and Iwa. I want neither as I am trying to rebuild my clan. As for my husband's doing something underhanded, I'm not surprised, because he liked to play near the border of the law." Mikoto admitted.

"I would like to see the faces of Sasuke's and Kakashi's accusers." Homura stated bluntly.

Naruto removed his cowl and glared at the council as members gasped. Homura cleared his throat and Naruto was surrounded by ANBU. Hinata, Keiko, Haku and Kikiyo all removed their cowls as well.

Naruto smiled as the ANBU grabbed him. "You know that if you don't let go I will be forced to defend myself and any injuries I suffer will go towards war being initiated by you idiots upon yourselves by not thinking before you do something." Naruto stated bluntly.

Naruto suddenly cried out in pain and was engulfed in a large cloud of smoke. The ANBU that appeared to have stuck Naruto was breathing hard when the smoke cleared a sword poked out of his left chest. "Enough! Get him some medical assistance! Naruto you are now under my protection and if the council has a problem with that they can remove me from office."

Naruto removed his sword as Tsunade stood in front of Naruto just temping anyone to try to attack him. Hiashi, Inoichi and Tsume all got up and stood before the Uzu group. Jiraiya stood behind the group. "Anybody else want to try to hurt our grand-nephew?" Jiraiya asked as he looked at Tsunade and grinned.

"What do you mean grand-nephew?" Danzou asked as if he only wanted information and nothing more.

Tsunade smiled as if she knew something and wanted to tell the world. "Naruto-kun is the great-great-grandson of the Second Hokage, making him my grand-nephew. And you ask who his father was? It was none other than the man who sealed the Kyuubi into him, the Fourth Hokage." Tsunade answered then put her hand out for Jiraiya to explain his relations.

"Naruto is grandson of my uncle-in-law. Given the way this village treats him I am almost of the same opinion of Orochimaru that this village is beyond saving. I hold out hope because of these clans." Jiraiya spread out his hands showing that the Hyuuga, Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Nara and Akimichi clans all showed their support of Naruto.

"We cannot just let our jinchuuriki be taken even by an allied village. He is ours and we have put in a great investment in him." Koharu pointed out.

"Investment! Investment! Is that what you call it? Near constant attacks, sabotaging of my learning, allowing the villagers to torment and beat me on a daily basis, you call this investment?" Naruto angrily asked.

"No, we say the loss of a Hokage is a large investment." Homura answered.

"So you are claiming my father now?" Naruto demanded nearly ready to attack the two old teammates of Sarutobi.

"It has not been truly established you are his child. You were and still are considered an orphan." Koharu answered in and annoyed tone.

"So then who do you think are my parents and why is my name Uzumaki?" Naruto asked.

"Your name is Uzumaki to protect you from your father's enemies, here on the council and abroad. I have heard from the Tsuchikage that you are safe from attack from Rock shinobi, even as the son of their most hated enemy the 'Yellow Flash', the Fourth Hokage. Your genetics prove you are the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. I as the third Hokage declare this to be true." Sarutobi announced as gasps and shouts erupted from the room. The group of clan heads standing in front of Naruto just smiled.

"I Hiashi Hyuuga also attest that Naruto is the son of Minato and Kushina. He is also betrothed to my eldest daughter Hinata. And the contract with the Uchiha is void as it was gotten under false pretenses." Hiashi proclaimed as Naruto and Hinata smiled at each other.

Mikoto stood and moved with the group of clan heads in front of Naruto. "I am not sure how this happened but I support Naruto's claim to both the name Namikaze and to Hinata's hand in marriage. Congratulations Naruto-san treat her right or you will hear from me. Right Kikiyo?" Mikoto winked at Kikiyo.

"You want more proof? I delivered Naruto and Kushina WAS his mother. I will have to say that I am surprised that she died so soon after giving birth as I was tending to Naruto after Minato died. They found evidence of a struggle, but her death was ruled as death by childbirth. I think members on this council had something to do about that. What say you council?" Tsunade inquired with a hint of killing intent.

"Again we have baseless charges." Koharu pointed out to the council.

"Shut it old hag! As the great-great-grandnephew, the great-great-grandson, and the son of Hokages I demand answers. I do not like to act like a pompous ass like Sasuke-teme does on a regular basis but I want answers." Naruto demanded.

"You think that you, a missing nin, can demand from this council?" Homura retorted authoritatively.

"How am I a missing nin? I never registered with this village. I never graduated from your academy. The people of this village, they chased me out of it and tried to kill me. As a person related to three of the four Hokages you have had in this village I demand answers, now." Naruto growled at the council through his clan head protectors.

"Here are all the answers that I can give you Naruto. There are members on this council who despised your father and plotted his downfall. They are here on this very council right now. I am sure some of them have contact with the missing nin Orochimaru plotting to overthrow Sarutobi-sama right now. While I do not agree with Sarutobi I believe in the strength of Konoha. I was hoping you would come back and we could use your power to help us in trouble times to come Naruto." Danzou stated as many of the council glared daggers at the man.

'Well played Danzou, you are playing both sides against the middle, but what exactly are you up too?' Sarutobi thought.

"I am sorry Danzou if I don't trust your word as you made an ass of yourself in Uzu. Your opinion against me in the Mizuki affair was very, troubling." Naruto said with an angry smile.

Danzou looked surprised. "I was not aware you were the target of Mizuki. You have my apologies." Danzou lowered his head apologetically.

"Mizuki? What did Mizuki do?" Mikoto asked.

Naruto looked away as Hinata stepped forward. "Mizuki was convicted of assault and attempted rape to enter a house on an academy student. He died a gruesome but deserved death." Hinata answered.

Mikoto and Tsume looked angry enough to kill. "Good riddance to that piece of shit." Tsume stated bluntly.

"So what other than what Lady Uchiha has offered is the council going to do about Sasuke Uchiha's actions?" Hinata asked.

"You cannot honestly want to punish me further for a traitor who masquerades a girl do you?" Sasuke pleaded with a hidden smirk.

"What do you mean he masquerades as a girl?" Homura asked his interest piqued.

"He was in the form of a girl most of the mission, a red haired girl." Sasuke commented.

"And if I remember correctly you made a couple passes at me even offered to make me your wife. Also if you could marry Hinata I could be your consort." Naruto replied angrily.

The killing intent rose in the room to near suffocating levels. "Sasuke!!" Mikoto and Kohaku both yelled at Sasuke.

"He even pulled the towel off of me when I was attempting to leave the bath on the mission." Hinata added with a small but silent giggle as she knew this would make Sasuke's pain even worse.

Sasuke quickly ran to the window only to be blocked by an ANBU, he then ran to the corner and started to shake. "Lady Hyuuga, Lord Uzumaki we shall deal with him when we return to the compound. You have my assurance that he will be dealt with." Mikoto stated as she and Kohaku both bowed to the pair.

Koharu made an annoyed sound. "I am sure you want to defend that teme Hatake now, right?" Naruto inquired.

"What is your proof?" Homura asked.

"He has plenty of proof. I Inoichi Yamanaka can attest to the fact that Kakashi Hatake has attacked Naruto Uzumaki on two separate occasions with his personal jutsu. I can also attest that he suffers from genjutsu from Fugaku Uchiha as did Hiashi Hyuuga. So while he is guilty of this heinous act he is also innocent to an extent. The genjutsu he suffers from put him in sort of a bi-polar state. He will act reasonable towards Naruto one minute then the opposite moments later. So Mikoto all this points back to your husband and your clan. Seeing as how Hatake is now a member of your clan and has seen fit not to show up to this inquiry." Inoichi stated accusatory.

"We are currently taking care of the genjutsu. His wife found this after you examined him and asked permission to remove it. He is recovering from his honeymoon and the removal of the genjutsu. Akane has proposed that several items be given to Naruto, things his father gave to Kakashi before he died as reparations." Mikoto announced.

"I want to push a jutsu through his chest like he did to me!" Naruto loudly protested.

"I understand the pain he may have put you through but that is all we can do." Mikoto retorted softly.

"Not to sound ungrateful Lady Uchiha but do you realize that he tried to kill me not once but at least twice. He used his Sharingan to conceal the fact of his attack in the off chance I survived, which I did. He also threatened the client, my team and me to keep this quiet. I can't let that stand. I have put up with too much from Konoha not to go back to my grandfather and the Tsuchikage and ask them to declare war on Konoha and the Uchiha particularly Sasuke and Kakashi. What do you say about that?" Naruto asked as the venom rolled off his voice.

"That would be unwise young one. You have the support of one of the clans you want to wage war upon. We are a clan that consists of five males, and about eighty females. My son did a thorough job in decimating our clan. After Kikiyo and the ten families left my husband whom I suspected of foul play showed no concern for the loss of life. I was shocked to say the least. Then my eldest son kills almost all the males of our clan and he pushes a sword through my chest as I try to defend Fugaku. He tormented my other son into wanting revenge, now I have to pick up the pieces. I have no problem with Kikiyo and the others being happy in Uzu, I wish them well." Mikoto said with her head hung low.

"And what do you have to say about my mother being kidnapped and forced into your clan? And me never being allowed to join the academy?" Keiko asked angrily.

"Who are you girl? I do not recognize you." Mikoto asked confused.

"I am by birth Keiko Namikaze but go by the name Keiko Senju. I am niece to the Fourth Hokage and Naruto's cousin. My mother was kidnapped and forced into the lower branches of your family. Based on what we have experienced your family leans towards the evil side. There are a few exceptions but not many." Keiko stated almost in tears.

"You have my sympathies my child but there is nothing I can do about the past other than to apologize. My husband apparently was not a nice man and we had our differences. I did love him, but they say that love is blind. You shall have no more interference from the Uchiha clan, you have my word on that." Mikoto said as she glared at the quivering form of Sasuke. "He will be dealt with by his wife to be and me this evening. As much as I am sure you would want to have him sterilized I cannot have that happen to my one remaining child. He will not stray again." Mikoto said emphasizing her last sentence.

"The boy is threatening war with our village and you offer apologies." Homura questions Mikoto.

"Yes I do. This village has been more than vile to the boy, my son included. You dismiss his charges of everything from assault, to attempted murder as if they were baseless. I am ashamed to be called a council member. Those of you sitting in my opinion should be removed with extreme prejudice, especially you old geezers. You tell the boy that he is of value then you push people to kill the child. He maybe a jinchuuriki but he is no longer our jinchuuriki. Uzu has claim and has apparently treated him well there. According to the report they are more skilled than our genin. Which begs us to question our training methods. My son had nearly special treatment but for the son of a Hokage that died in the line of duty would be treated in such a manner." Mikoto let a single tear fall from her left eye as she continued her tirade.

"All children are precious, and I am ashamed of you especially Koharu. You're a great grandmother and you wish to have a child put to death. How dare you!" Mikoto yelled vindictively.

"You must calm yourself Mikoto head of the Uchiha. We are a shinobi village and we do things according to a code." Koharu coldly stated.

"Like ignore a dying mans wish? He wanted Naruto to be viewed as a hero, but this council in its infinite wisdom ignored his wishes and pushed as much hate onto the boy as they could, my husband included. Like ignore attempted murder and assault on a child? Now the boy has political backing and you still want to destroy him. He maybe a jinchuuriki but he is also human. Jinchuuriki means human sacrifice. Don't you think he has sacrificed enough?" Mikoto pleaded as tears ran down her face.

"As impassioned as your speech is. We are shinobi and are not so easily swayed." Homura stated.

"I had hoped that this village would have grown since Naruto had left this village but apparently it has not. Sure we might be able to destroy Uzu but they would have the backing of Iwa and of course we might lose all these clans to Uzu and then we would not be able to fight Uzu at all. If what has transpired in this meeting today came to light I know several things would happen. The Hyuuga would leave for Uzu, then both Sannin would also drop their allegiance to our village, I will resign and take my family, and I am sure several other families will leave with us. This will leave a gutted village. Also you would lose the support of the Fire Daimyo. He is most displeased with this council." Sarutobi stated as he slammed a scroll onto the table.

"Did the boy whine to the Daimyo?" Koharu asked.

"No he did not whine you old bitch!" Kikiyo snarled.

"You will hold your tongue as you are not a clan head and cannot address me in such a fashion." Koharu retorted finally starting to lose her cool composed demeanor.

"I am so a clan head for your information and am engaged to the heir apparent of the Uzumaki clan. I am also their sensei and will not be addressed by a bumbling fool on a foreign council. I will not sit here and have me and my students insulted!" Kikiyo anger spurred her on.

"Please ladies… We do not want a fight here." Danzou stated with calculated ease, earning him glares from Kikiyo, Mikoto, and Koharu. "We are here as a inquiry dealing with a mission that while a success there were several issues. Sasuke Uchiha will be punished for his transgressions. I am also going to put forth a motion for us to eliminate or change the marriage laws. No female should be raped so that a male can join their clan." Danzou stated plainly, this caught all the women's attention.

"You mean that is how Konoha law is now?" Tsume asked with worry in her eyes.

"Yes I am afraid that it is so. We should allow for entry into a clan through more sane means. If a woman willing takes a partner than they can enter the clan even if the clan opposes it. The same will be for a male taking a partner. This way the individual will determine who they are to marry not the clan. Arranged marriages will still be allowed of course, but not forcible entry." Danzou stated.

"I second the motion!" Tsume yelled her support.

"All in favor of changing the laws?" Sarutobi asked to a near unanimous chorus of 'Aye's'. "Motion passed now back to Kakashi's actions. He has injured and nearly killed Naruto a citizen of Konoha and a shinobi of Uzu. Usually injuring a citizen without prior authorization is grounds for execution especially if they are attempting murder. What is the council's opinion?" Sarutobi asked with a determined look on his face.

"He is receiving help from his new clan so we should be lenient." The Haruno representative stated but appeared to ulterior motives for her statement.

"Burn him to ashes or feed him to my dogs." Tsume chimed in.

"I feel that Kakashi will feel deep remorse soon and may even take his own life but we cannot have that. He is too valuable to this village and to my clan for that. So in that vein I am proposing that he and Sasuke do charity work for Uzu for a year's time. If he does enter his team into the chunin exams then that time will be added onto the end of the punishment. Does that sound reasonable?" Mikoto inquired as she bowed to Naruto. "My son may not regret his actions now but he will. Trust me he will, Kohaku and I will make sure of that. As for Hatake, Akane and I will make sure he also regrets his actions." Mikoto again bowed to Naruto.

Naruto was not sure what to do. 'Hinata-chan, Baa-chan, what should I do? I don't know what to do.' Naruto thought as he sighed heavily.

'Naruto-kun I do not know as the council seems divided and you have the support of most clans and Danzou, I do not trust him, especially after how he acted in Uzu.' Hinata replied in her thoughts.

'Kill all those that oppose you and fix the problems here in Konoha. They deserve no less. We deserve revenge for how we were treated. I want to see the blood of those who have wronged you. As I stated before I do not trust the Konoha Uchiha. This Mikoto intrigues me but I am not sure if we can trust her so I say kill them all and let Kami sort out the innocents.' Kyuubi replied with a chuckle.

Naruto shook his head. "It is still not enough."

"What would you like Naruto-san? Public executions for all those who have wronged you?" Shin Haruno inquired.

"Executions would be what the Kyuubi wants. No, I want to see the wrongs righted. How do you propose to fix what was done to me? The son of your last Hokage. I also want to know what happened to my mother. Again I want answers before I decide what I want." Naruto answered.

"So we are to submit to the whims of a boy who claims abuse." Shin Haruno nonchalantly stated as he rolled his eyes.

Naruto's eyes turned red with slits. "Claims of abuse! I was abused, attacked and nearly killed!"

Shin again rolled his eyes as he set his chin on his hands folded above the table. "You maybe the child of a Hokage but you are still a demon in human skin. Look at his eyes, that is proof."

"I am a jinchuuriki! My father sacrificed his life to save your sorry ass! Maybe I should let Kyuubi-chan have one last life as you apparently would not be missed as you lowly council member! Also you do not even know what it is like to be me! What is the saying? 'Walk a mile in someone else's shoes before you judge them'. You wouldn't have lasted past my second birthday, bastard!" Naruto seethed with anger and contempt.

"You do not scare me anymore for you cannot kill me without causing a war." Shin stated arrogantly.

Sarutobi smirked this put all the council members on their guard except for Shin. "You claim he is the demon herself? Naruto-kun please let her talk for herself through you." Sarutobi gently urged.

Naruto nodded and his features changed. His hair became wilder, his whisker marks darkened and widened, his canines lengthened, and his eyes began to glow. **"Shut your mouth lousy worm! My kit has stayed my hand for a long time and was able to calm me. The accursed Uchiha brought my wrath upon your miserable village, Minato and those that supported him should have left the village to me and then come back to rebuild after I left. Your blind stupidity and unwillingness to see what was right before you shows how unworthy you are to live." **Naruto smiled a devious grin.** "I remember you now…"**

--

A/N: What did Shin Haruno do to Naruto? Will he die? What is Danzou up too? Will the elders die? Will there be war for Konoha? Find out in the next chapter… Sorry for the cliffhanger I will be getting the next chapter to my beta's as quickly as I can.

Thanks for the help from my beta readers: Volpes, Exantos, Allan Pike, and the others. :D


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I do not own Naruto but the storyline.

Sorry for the delay of story I have been fairly busy. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter.

Chapter 22 – Kyuubi's rage…

Naruto nodded and his features changed. His hair became wilder, his whisker marks darkened and widened, his canines lengthened, and his eyes began to glow red. **"Shut your mouth lousy worm! My kit has stayed my hand for a long time and was able to calm me. The accursed Uchiha brought my wrath upon your miserable village, Minato and those that supported him should have left the village to me and then come back to rebuild after I left. Your blind stupidity and unwillingness to see what was right before you shows how unworthy you are to live."** Naruto smiled a devious grin. "**I remember you now…"**

Shin paled at the sight of Naruto walking past his guardians towards Shin with a look like he knew something he was going to tell the others. "W… what d… do you re… remember about me?" Shin stuttered out.

Naruto looked at Hinata and then to Keiko. **"Keiko, be a dear and catch Hinata-chan." ** Kyuubi said before turning back to Shin while Hinata appeared to lose consciousness. Naruto smiled affectionately at Hinata and then looked at directly at him. **"Let's see, there was the time you came into the orphanage and said 'Let's see if the Yondaime's son will survive this?' and you stabbed the kit in the heart. You left him for dead knowing full well that he was the son of your fallen Hokage. Unbeknownst to you the person looking after the kit was careful to pull out the knife slowly so that I could heal him. What say you Haruno scum?"**

"I did no such thing!" Shin shouted his denial.

"**Oh, really? You later found out he had survived and made a point of finding the woman who saved his life. You then captured the kit and tied him up and forced him to watch as you raped the woman who saved his life, killed her and then burned the body. You then slit the kits throat. He does not remember it, luckily for him as it would bring up a very bad memory. You know you humans can be viler than any of us demon lords at times. We do not cover up the fact that we enjoy bloodshed and general destruction. You on the other hand like to hide the fact that you enjoy being worse than animals in your treatment of each other, I submit that your treatment of the kit and the woman who tried to protect him as evidence of how vile and evil you humans can be." **Naruto said as his finger tapped his chin.

"I did no such thing to the demon or any woman!" Shin attempted to defend himself.

"Who are you referring to when you say demon? Naruto or the Kyuubi?" Hiashi inquired.

"They are the same as you can see." Shin emphatically protested that Naruto and the Kyuubi are one and the same.

"**Foolish mortal… You think only of yourself. How would your wife think of you hearing that you hurt another woman and a child?"** Kyuubi asked Shin pointedly.

"She will never hear about it as it never happened. The demon is lying to all of you. Can't you see? It is trying to divide the council and destroy the village from within by killing off the council." Shin commented.

"**You give me too much credit, but I like the idea. The kit is rather fond of the Hyuuga but doesn't care enough about the village to worry about revenge. He is just mad at those who have hurt him. He would rather not return here if he could help it. He has a good heart but it has been hurt so many times it is near breaking. The kittling and I are the ones who have helped bring him back to sanity. You are both the kindest and vilest of creatures in existence. I have seen you at your best."** Kyuubi looked affectionately at Hinata asleep in Keiko's arms. **"And I have seen you at your worst, Mizuki and you Shin come to mind, along with many others." **

"What do you mean?" Shin asked.

"**I ask for your death and a few others as you are worthless to this village as you are now." **Kyuubi stated as Naruto smiled, he then changed into a beautiful red headed woman with a blue kimono and nine fox tails. **"Baka, this is what I look like in my human form. I do not look like the kit. I am female and you Uchiha are to blame for my attack on this village, the blame lies solely on the hands of one man, a one Madara Uchiha to be exact."**

"Madara was lost during his battle with the Shodai, the First Hokage." Sarutobi stated in surprise.

"**Fool I was there too, or have you forgotten your history? He did not die he left me for dead with the Shodai. The Shodai took pity on me and let me go. I owe his kin that much. Thus the reason I protect the kit here and his mate. They both have good hearts…" **Kyuubi turned to Koharu. **"Unlike some unfeeling females, who should never have procreated in the first place. I may be a demon but you lady elder, and I use the term 'lady' sparingly. You, I am guessing are behind most of the friction in this village that entangles my kit. You claim that his father giving up his life gives you ownership over the boy so that he can become a weapon. And you say that he should be killed. This council could not decide its way out of a wet paper bag to save the village."** Kyuubi looked angrily at the council.

Kyuubi bowed deeply to Sarutobi. **"The kit respects you greatly Sandaime, and so do I. But I do understand why Madara wanted to destroy this village though."** Kyuubi turned and pointed to both Shin and Koharu. **"It is backwards thinkers like you. I am sure that Itachi worked with Madara to slay the Uchiha. I am also sure that Itachi did it under partial council orders for neither the Uchiha nor the Hyuuga who are on the council would want such unwarranted slaughter. I blame Fugaku Uchiha and Madara Uchiha for some of the kit's troubles. But the council is to blame for most of his troubles. Who had knowledge of his being a demon container? Who passed this information on to the general populace without the Hokage's consent? Tell me worms, who among you tried to have the kit killed for the reason of him being my container?"**

The Kyuubi surveyed the members a few were sweating others were indifferent. **"And now you are figuring ways to deny him his legacy as the son and rightful heir to the Yondaime. I would dare any of you or your children or you for that matter to experience a year of the kits life and not be forever broken. He has endured more than anything a torture expert could ever do in years. You here are very lucky if some of you will come out alive after this meeting. The Hyuuga clan council went up against this boy and lost, I am not so sure the village council might fare any better." ** Kyuubi chuckled as she spoke. **"It might, it might not…"**

"How dare you threaten this honorable council?" Shin stood in protest at the top of his lungs and charged Kyuubi.

Shin threw a kunai as he approached, but the Kyuubi deftly caught the kunai, she then turned and drove the kunai directly into Shin's heart. Shin appeared to embrace the Kyuubi. **"You stabbed the kit in the heart, I have returned the favor but I think that he had a better chance of surviving. Also an untrained civilian attacking someone who is in a shinobi trained body is not really a match I would say is fair. Now be a good little worm and go to hell to receive and your punishment for what you have done to both that poor woman and the kit." **Kyuubi released the kunai as Shin slid down the Kyuubi coming to rest on the floor at her feet. A pool of blood began to expand from the body.

"You have killed that man in cold blood. You shall be punished for your crime." Homura stated.

The Kyuubi began to laugh. **"If that is in cold blood then you are not shinobi. I defended myself and the kit from attack and was within my rights to kill someone who has attacked me and the kit on more than one occasion. It was just that this time we could defend ourselves. You would deny both the kit and I such a basic right?"** The Kyuubi mocked Homura.

"You should not have attacked the village and then the boy would still have his parents." Koharu accused.

An ANBU appeared next to the Hokage handing him a scroll. Sarutobi read the scroll his eyes went wide. Sarutobi cleared his throat getting the attention of all in the room. "Kushina Uzumaki's body was perfectly preserved."

Tsunade wore a look of confusion upon her face. "How can that be? She died over a decade ago her body should have decomposed at least some in that time." Tsunade reported.

"Her body has not decomposed because of what they found in her blood. She died from poisoning. So as it stands now Naruto Uzumaki, is orphaned because his father fought Kyuubi and sealed her inside his son. Now we find out that Kushina died from being murdered." Sarutobi reported as he bowed his head.

"You cannot extract a body and do tests on it without coming before the council and requesting permission to exhume the body." Homura stated bluntly as if insulted by what the Hokage had done.

"I did not request it. Naruto-kun did. And as her next of kin he does not have to go through the council if he feels there was reason to believe there was foul play. I am beginning to believe that my former teammates are plotting against the village and have committed grievous crimes. How say you?" Sarutobi requested.

"Preposterous. We are loyal to this village and are insulted by your claims of such." Homura stated bluntly.

"Then why have you both insulted the integrity of guests to this village?" Sarutobi inquired.

"What guests? We have not insulted the boy with the blood line at all. Otherwise we only have people from this village in this room." Koharu replied incredulously.

"Actually you have insulted me by saying my word is not as valid as the Uchiha boy. As it stands now I would never want to join a village that has treated a child in such a way. You seem to value blood lines more than the individual. You have alienated two of your best shinobi by your actions. Your village attempted to murder on numerous occasions the son of its most influential leader. How can you call this village honorable?" Haku inquired as his anger began to flare.

"Konoha is stronger than Uzu. So why would you join them instead of us?" Homura inquired.

"And be forced into a political marriage by this very council? I think not. Just from what little I have seen I would be forced to marry too soon for me in a village that killed the person whom was precious to me." Haku stated sadly.

"The council could force you to stay, both you and Kyuubi." Homura stated bluntly.

The Kyuubi laughed a maniacal laugh. **"You would try to restrain the kit and his friends? Even when you have most of your clans and your own Hokage against you?"**

"Sarutobi will do as the council demands and the clans will fall back into line when we tell them too." Homura stated.

"You will force the clans back into line? I would like to see that." Hiashi pointed out his anger with his activated Byakugan.

"We have plenty of shinobi that are not from the clans and would be able to restrain you until the Yamanaka could persuade you to return to the fold." Homura stated.

"You are dictating what my clan will do?" Inoichi angrily inquired.

"You are a shinobi of the leaf and will do as this council dictates!" Homura yelled.

"Since when did the council have more power than the Hokage?" Tsunade asked.

"They don't there are just some members who like to push their political weight around and think that other will fall in line, Tsunade-hime." Danzou responded as if annoyed with Homura.

"**I could remove them from your council if you like?" **Kyuubi said with an evil grin.

"Enough!" Sarutobi yelled as he slammed his fist onto the table. "We have gone off subject too far. We are treading close to the area of treason from the council." Sarutobi shook his head. "I cannot believe that the council would want to force the clans to do things against their bidding. There are times where it is appropriate but what you are proposing Homura is not. Brainwashing the clan leaders is not a way to make peace within this council." Sarutobi slumped into his chair. 'This has been too long a meeting.'

"Hiashi, Mikoto, Inoichi, Tsume, you will restrain the Uzu contingent while they are taken into custody. Do I make myself clear?" Homura ordered.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Kyuubi, you are considered property of Konoha and are to surrender yourself to our custody. Kikiyo you, Haku and Keiko are to also surrender to our custody as you are considered traitors to the Leaf, and will be married off to continue the bloodlines. Hinata Hyuuga you will be Sasuke Uchiha's second wife and the subservient one of the two." Hinata had no response as she was still unconscious. "This meeting will never have happened as all persons will be sworn to secrecy about this meeting under penalty of death." Koharu ordered as ANBU surrounded almost everyone.

"What is the meaning of this Koharu, Homura? This is treason!" Sarutobi yelled as he attempted to stand but was push back down into his chair.

"I am sorry Sarutobi-san but you do not realize who is in charge of this village do you. We control most of the ANBU right now." Koharu stated with a smile only to start gagging.

"**Silly little mortals, I will not have the kit in danger for your little games." ** Kyuubi stated angrily with Naruto's sword was positioned next to Koharu's neck, already having slit her throat. The two ANBU that had stood next to the Kyuubi lay dead in pools of blood.

The ANBU were quickly disabled as taking on a sitting Kage, two Sannin, and several clan heads was not what the ANBU were expecting. Also a couple of the ANBU were loyal to Sarutobi having protected both Hinata and Sarutobi.

"Homura you are guilty of treason to Konoha and are sentenced to death. Do you have any last words?" Sarutobi asked.

"I will not die today… gah…" Homura attempted to rant but was cut down by Kyuubi and Naruto's sword.

"**Hiashi, Kikiyo, Tsunade-obasan I must return control back to the kit."** The Kyuubi stated as she stood next to Tsunade and collapsed. Her body returned to being Naruto's body as the henge was released.

"This is an outrage! That… thing was allowed to kill two elders!" An old shinobi council member yelled as he jumped the table and headed towards Naruto.

"You are in range of my divination. 'Eight trigrams: sixty-four palms!'" Hinata yelled as she slid in front of Naruto and proceeded to pummel said old shinobi. "You will leave my beloved alone!"

Kikiyo walked up to the barely conscious man. "You do realize that you are treading very closely to war with Uzu and Iwa. How about I just eliminate you so that we don't have any unnecessary deaths?" Kikiyo inquired as the man passed out. "Oh and I was hoping that he would fight me. Hinata-chan you hurt him too much." Kikiyo said in faux scolding. "Sarutobi-sama, can I just remove this troublemaker so that Uzu can rest easier about its alliance with Konoha?"

"No we need information on who else in this council was against Naruto so that we can clean house. He will be sent to Ibiki. I will warn what is left of the council now, that the Fire Daimyo is not happy with you and wanted better results from you. Your transgressions against Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze will not soon be forgotten. This body has offended too many people with political power, starting with the Daimyo himself, me your own Hokage and head of the Sarutobi clan, the Hyuuga, the Inuzuka, the Yamanaka, the Senju, the Uchiha, the head of the Namikaze clan and all the delegation from Uzu. This council is hereby dissolved and everyone will report to Ibiki for questioning." Sarutobi stated as he snapped his fingers and more ANBU appeared. "Those that do not show up for questioning will be found guilty of treason and killed on sight. Now get out of my sight."

This left only the supporters of Naruto in the room along with Sasuke who had passed out after having pissed his pants when the Kyuubi had taken over Naruto. There were also about a dozen plus bodies strewn around the room all dead.

"Let's take this to a more agreeable place to finish this discussion and let Naruto recover." Sarutobi suggested.

--------

They had moved their discussion to Sarutobi's home.

Naruto woke to the sound of conversation and a comfortable pillow, Hinata's lap. "Hi handsome." Hinata expressed her affection for Naruto as he woke by planting a kiss on Naruto's lips.

"Hey beautiful. What did I miss?" Naruto inquired. "So when do we go home?"

"We gave the Konoha village council a bloody nose." Hinata teased.

"I hope we didn't do anything irreparable." Naruto said as he continued to enjoy Hinata's lap.

"You have grown Naruto. Can I do anything to make you stay?" Sarutobi inquired.

"I am not sure there is anything that can be done. We were not welcome here in this village, even though my father and mother gave their lives for it. Hinata-chan's mother died and her father treated her terribly. No offense Hiashi-sama." Naruto stated bluntly.

"None was taken, Naruto-san. I would totally agree with you in that I did treat my daughter terribly. My wife and I tried to make your lives easier but then Fugaku messed that up." Hiashi replied sorrowfully in his own defense.

"The Sharingan is a very powerful and dangerous tool. In the wrong hands it could turn the world upside down." Kikiyo expressed her opinion.

"Nothing personal Jiji but we do not trust those here especially the Uchiha. Sasuke is hell bent on gaining power, not getting stronger. This worries me and those I care about. Until he get some sense knocked into him I am not sure if he will understand what it is we do as shinobi." Naruto asserted.

"I see what you mean Naruto. Sasuke is so bent on revenge that he does not see what I did to his team. I put those that care about him most into his team and he showed no concern to either change their opinion or help them that I worry that he will not succeed or he might get others killed." Sarutobi contemplated. "Tell me what you did to the Hyuuga clan council, if you would?"

"We had a little discussion and they did not like that Naruto-kun and I were betrothed. They tried to fight and my team protected itself. The council was not happy to see either of us but they were also not happy that I wanted to keep the betrothal. They wanted me to marry someone other than Naruto-kun. We would not have that. They tried to use force and well the council is smaller in numbers because of it." Hinata proclaimed.

"How did you feel when you killed some of the council?" Sarutobi inquired.

"We were sad that they took that path but we also felt justified in so far as they attacked us and we defended ourselves." Naruto stated in an almost melancholy voice.

"I see." Sarutobi replied, happy that they did not take pleasure in killing, and that they understood it as part of the shinobi way.

"When do we leave?" Naruto asked.

"After you claim what is rightfully yours. Your family home is ready for you to take possession of it. If nothing else we can clean out the personal items and then sell it to the village as a memorial to your father." Sarutobi replied sadly.

"I am not sure how to deal with that, jiji. I know my father is the Fourth, but I am not sure if I should be sad about his death or mad at him for sealing the Kyuubi in me. I feel that this village did not deserve the sacrifice that my family has made. I was tortured as a child by an ungrateful village that did not understand that I was the jailor of a demon that was forced to attack the village." Naruto stated with his anger hidden just below the surface. He raised his hand to forestall any argument from Sarutobi. "I know there are a lot of good people who live here. But I keep encountering the bad, I mean I meet team 7. Sakura and Ino are not bad but Sasuke and Kakashi are borderline evil in my opinion. Kakashi attacked me when I was a child as did several other shinobi."

"I know you are in pain Naruto but I am just one man and your father left me a broken village. I do what I can." Sarutobi responded.

"It wasn't enough. My father would be displeased to say the least. If he knew his own student had attacked his son what would he have done?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know Naruto, I don't know." Sarutobi replied weakly.

"Why did you let them do it too me? I was poisoned, beaten, and nearly killed on too many occasions to count. I held the Kyuubi in check but those bastards…" Naruto angrily pointed out the window. "They have nothing but contempt for me. I have done nothing wrong to them! Nothing! Yet they attacked and hurt me at every turn. Those that tried to help were either chased off or were killed. Even members of the 'esteemed' council and clans plotted my demise." Naruto eyes burned as he held back the tears he felt forming.

"I am Hokage and my job is to protect the village as best as I can." Sarutobi defended himself.

"A jinchuuriki can be a weapon for a village as the council member stated. I have no reason to defend this village other than you and a couple others. I am sorry jiji but compared to those I have found in Uzu this village does not have enough to compel me to defend it with my life. I love you like a grandfather but Takashi is more important to me. Hinata-chan, Keiko-chan and Kikiyo-sensei mean more to me than this village." Naruto was forcing himself to keep calm as his eyes had turned purple.

"Naruto we can do little to change the past so I offer you this. We will get your stuff from your parent's house, I know there are some letters addressed to you but no one can enter without you being there. So tomorrow we will gather what you like from the house and you can then leave the village to live your life. I hold you to nothing other than be yourself." Sarutobi warmly stated.

"Thanks jiji. So long as I do not have to deal with your council again. I am of the opinion of slaughtering most of them and let Kami sort them out." Naruto coldly joked.

"Would you include me in that group to be slaughtered Naruto?" Hiashi inquired.

"If we were unable to break the genjutsu I would be sorely tempted." Naruto said with a smirk.

"You will be entering them into the chunin exams won't you Kikiyo?" Sarutobi inquired.

Kikiyo nodded. "All three have the potential to be chunin and we do not have but one Uzu chunin right now. He is the only other member of the Fenikkusu clan that was a ninja that came to Uzu. We are still using Iwa shinobi for chunin and most jonin roles right now. As a trusted ally, you Hokage-sama are getting this information, we prefer it not get out to the council as we have been having problems with another village, Oto no Sato lately. They are encroaching on our borders all the time. We are asking that Konoha put some pressure on Oto to stop these incursions or we will be forced to act upon them." Kikiyo stated as she bowed respectfully to Sarutobi.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: To those whom it may concern I don't own Naruto or any of the characters in said story…

Enjoy the story…

Chapter 23 – Going home…

The Uzu shinobi left the village without much fanfare, as only Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, Tonton, Hiashi and a few Hyuuga were there to see them off. Hiashi and a group of Hyuuga were going to join Naruto and Hinata's team on their trip home. Naruto was happy to see Hinata happy to have her father back, both were a little sad to be saying good bye to their place of birth, but both were happy to be heading to a place where they were happily accepted.

The groups headed out of the village the Sannin, the Hyuuga and the Whirlpool shinobi. One of the Hyuuga began the conversation. "So Naruto-sama how does it feel to be related to two of the Hokages?"

Naruto smiled at the thought. "I am actually related to three, my great-grandfather, the Second, my great-great-granduncle, the First, and my father, the Fourth. " Naruto's admission shocked the Hyuuga bodyguards.

"Why then would you not want to return to Konoha to become a candidate for Hokage, Naruto-sama?" The Hyuuga inquired.

"There are a couple reasons. First I am now living in Uzu and have pledged my loyalty to that village and it would cause a conflict with that pledge if I were to take the mantle of Hokage. Second I could not protect a village that held so much animosity towards me for something that I had no control over. Most of the village believes I am the Kyuubi incarnate. I carry her but I am not the same being as she is. She is both a burden and a treasure at the same time." Naruto explained.

"Naruto-sama is wise beyond his years. Forgive me for my impudence, Naruto-sama, Hinata-sama, Hiashi-sama." The man bowed deeply.

Naruto smirked at this as he never liked being held in truly high regard but had learned to accept it to a point. "Think nothing of it as you only asked a question that was on your mind." Naruto said with a smile, he then quickly scowled. "We are no longer alone Sensei." Naruto said as he got to a ready position.

Two figures appeared in front of the group, they were wearing black cloaks with red clouds and straw hats. "I thought you dead a long time ago Kikiyo-chan." The shorter of the two men stated in a calm voice.

"So, you have decided to show your face Itachi-chan." Kikiyo retorted. "To what do we have the honor of your showing your face?"

"We are here for the Kyuubi container. That is all we want, you may proceed afterward to your destination without any further bother." Itachi explained.

Tsunade face turned to anger. "Like hell you will! You will not do anything to my nephew, and anyone who does will have to go through me."

Itachi nodded. "As you wish Sannin." Itachi raised his hat showing his Sharingan "Tsukuyomi."

"Quickly avert your eyes!" Kikiyo yelled as everyone turned their heads. "That will not work if we do not look into your eyes."

(Naruto's mindscape)

Naruto found himself strapped to a large wooden cross. "What is going on?"

"You are in a realm where I control everything, this is Tsukuyomi. Now for the next seventy-two hours I will torture you." Itachi explained as he shoved a katana into Naruto's stomach, only to be surprised when he only grunted and didn't scream. "I'm sure this hurts, so you may scream, there is only the two of us in here."

Itachi suddenly felt his legs collapse out from under him. He looked to see the Hyuuga girl standing above him along with a beautiful red headed woman. "He is never alone, Itachi-chan." The woman taunted.

"Who are you and how did you enter my Tsukuyomi?" Itachi questioned.

"As progenitor of your bloodline, you should know better than to seek me out. Madara knew how to control me but you do not. So either explain yourself or I will kill you now." Kyuubi growled, with so much killing intent that it made it hard for Itachi to breathe.

"Madara and Akatsuki want you and all the other Bijuu for some purpose. I needed Naruto-kun to come with me to help find this purpose. I was not going to permanently hurt him. I would make sure he would not be hurt." Itachi explained.

"You, the one who killed his whole clan in a night want us to believe that you will keep him safe from that monster Madara?" Kyuubi asked.

"Madara and Pein both want Naruto-kun for what I'm not sure." Itachi replied.

"You will not have Naruto-kun, I will kill if you try to take him from me." Hinata stated with quite a bit of her own killing intent. "Now let him go or I will finish what I started. You will die in your own illusion."

"You need not worry Hyuuga-chan, I am just wanting to give Naruto-kun some taste of what the life he has chosen is like. Being a shinobi is not all that you think it is, you may have to give up your life for your village." Itachi said in a melancholy voice.

"What do you know of sacrifice? You killed most of your relatives you murdering fiend." Hinata growled through clenched teeth.

"I did what I was told by my village to avert a civil war. I also had the help of Madara in killing the Uchiha. I was able to save Sasuke and my mother from him. Though he did put some psychological damage upon my brother, I do not know the extent of it but I was ordered by Pein to keep up the indifferent brother act so that I can keep Konoha safe." Itachi said as Naruto was released from his bonds on the crucifix.

"What the hell do you mean you are preparing me for life as a shinobi? I think I have had a lot of experience that I should never have had growing up. You want to see my life?" Naruto angrily yelled at Itachi.

"No Naruto-kun, I know as one of your body guards during your youth, I know how you were treated." Itachi replied in pain.

"Then why do you wish to inflict more upon me?" Naruto inquired.

"I must keep up appearances to keep leader happy. I will contact you later, ask Jiraiya-sama about it he will have more information for you. There is also a reason I attacked you, so you could build up resistance to the Sharingan. Ask your jounin instructor about the clan she can fill you in on what it takes to be an actual Uchiha." Itachi stated.

Naruto looked at Itachi with a skeptical glance. "I guess I can ask sensei, but why did you actually attack me?" Naruto inquired.

"Leader is after your Bijuu, the Kyuubi. I'm not sure of what his ultimate plans are but he apparently needs all the Bijuu sealed in a statue to make his plan work. I will try to have Jiraiya-sama find them so that they may be protected. Until next time Naruto-kun, Hinata-sama, and Kyuubi." Itachi stated as the world faded and the real world came back into focus.

(Real world)…

Itachi winced in pain and then looked at Kisame. "We need to go now. I could not control the boy and we can't fight two Sannin, the Hyuuga head and several Hyuuga at the same time." Itachi warned as he backed off.

Jiraiya looked at Itachi and moved forward. "Guess the traitor has shown his spots." Jiraiya exclaimed as the two missing nin ran away. "Are you okay Naruto?"

Naruto slumped down to his knees only to be caught by Hinata. "It'll be okay Naruto-kun, everyone is here to help you." Hinata turned Naruto and kissed him gently on the lips. Naruto smiled and nodded as his breath returned to normal. "Jiraiya-sama we will need to talk when we return to Uzu." Hinata stated with a serious look on her face.

Jiraiya nodded and looked at Tsunade. "They are getting bold to attack while both of us are here and a person he knew. Interesting tactic, wouldn't you say Kikiyo? Also did you know he had the Mangekyou Sharingan?" Jiraiya queried.

Kikiyo shook her head. "No Jiraiya-sama I thought that eye lost with Madara-teme. Apparently I was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time." Kikiyo responded with a chuckle.

Jiraiya picked up Naruto and put him on his back as the group headed as quickly to Uzu as possible. Tsunade, Jiraiya and Kikiyo shared glances as they left the area, after the group left four figures appeared from behind a tree. "Good thing they didn't detect us, right Captain?" The man in the hawk mask asked.

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Kakashi groaned as sat up in bed. Married life was hard work, his new wife required him to make love to her repeatedly for nearly two days straight. He was happy that they did start out playing the characters in his favorite book, but two days of sex, even his stamina was beginning to wane. "Can't we sleep for a little bit, Akane-chan?" Kakashi pleaded.

Akane smirked as her head lay on his chest and she made circles on his stomach with her index finger. "Of course Kakashi-kun… but first you have to tell me why you hate the Uzumaki boy." Akane looked him in the eyes.

Kakashi swallowed hard, he saw the look from her that said 'no rest until you answer'. "Short answer is that he took my sensei from me." Kakashi answered with a smile. "Satisfied?" Kakashi asked, but Akane shook her head and Kakashi sighed. "Look, first he took Minato-sensei, the last of the people I cared about, he also burned some of my books before he left. Something about them being vile and being his favorite color."

Akane was shocked by his answer. "That is rather shallow of you Kakashi, books can be replaced and he is the son of your sensei. What would you have done if thing were different and he was still here? Or, even better if he was on your team?" Akane asked wanting to know the answer.

Kakashi looked up with his single uncovered eye as if pondering. "I would more than likely ignore him for the most part." Kakashi answered coldly.

"That isn't nice. Was it his fault that the Kyuubi was sealed within him?" Akane looked at Kakashi as he pondered the new question. "No, it was not his fault so why blame him? As for the books you can replace those." Akane then bit her lip. "Also aren't I better than your books?" She asked seductively.

Kakashi smiled as he kissed Akane gently and they both closed their eyes entering a blissful sleep.

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Sasuke was currently running for his life in only his shorts and his sandals as he scowled at Kohaku who was running beside him. "Enjoying the exercise, my husband-to-be?"

Sasuke could barely respond. "I will get you for this…" he panted out in halting words.

Kohaku giggled as they continued to run away from the 'Sasuke Fan Club'. Kohaku has apparently told them to set up groups at certain intersections to keep the girls fresh and to keep Sasuke running. Sakura and Ino continued several passes behind saying nothing as they figured it would help them in the end.

Suddenly they were passed by a boy in green spandex who just grinned the brightest smile at the girls and then took off at near twice their speed. "I will see you beautiful ladies on my next pass." The boy exclaimed loudly.

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The Uzu team and companions stopped at the gates of Uzugakure no Sato. "Team Kikiyo and visitors asking permission to enter." Kikiyo yelled up the wall.

The gates slowly opened as the group filed through them. After the last person entered the gates closed. Keiko looked at the chuunin guards with a puzzled expression. "Why the heightened security?"

The Iwa chuunin looked at Keiki with a smile. "Sound shinobi have been hitting border towns and abducting just about anyone who can use chakra and killing the rest. Killed three teams of them so far this week, trying to get into the village." The chuunin answered.

"So we're fighting Sound now? Aren't they in Rice country? What is the Daimyo thinking?" Keiko asked as the chuunin just shrugged their shoulders.

An ANBU appeared next to Kikiyo. "Are these the only Konoha shinobi to accompany you?" The man asked from behind a bear mask.

"No we were followed by at least one squad, if not two and those are not considered friendly. Hiashi-sama, Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama, were you expecting any more guests?" Kikiyo asked pointedly.

Jiraiya shook his head as did Tsunade. Hiashi looked at his group and shook his head also. "All our people are accounted for. If they leave then they might be extra guards that the Hokage sent to protect Naruto-kun. If they do not leave then they are not and you may do with them as you see fit as they are not under orders from the Hokage or any of us." Hiashi stated bluntly.

The bear masked ANBU nodded and then disappeared. Kikiyo clapped her hands together. "Now that was interesting. First we need to register with Takashi-sama and then we can go get something to eat."

Naruto perked up at that statement. "Ramen?" Naruto asked as everybody laughed.

Hinata shook her head and grabbed his hand. "No, Naruto-kun. We are going to get a good meal." Hinata stated sternly as Naruto appeared to pout. Hinata and Keiko giggled at Naruto.

"You think that the Ichiraku ramen stand will move here?" Naruto asked as nearly everyone blanched.

"Naruto-kun, as much as I love you nephew, you will not make a diet of ramen. Do I make myself clear?" Tsunade warned as Naruto nodded. "If we hadn't fixed your nutrition you might have stayed shorter than Hinata-chan here." Tsunade stated as she pointed to Hinata much to Naruto's embarrassment.

"I would have loved Naruto-kun anyway." Hinata-proclaimed as everyone again laughed.

"So what will I have to do to become a shinobi for Uzu, Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.

Naruto thought as they approached the village leader's building. "While the village likes bloodlines they also do not favor them over skilled recruits. You'll have to talk to my grandfather about everything as he knows it all." Naruto replied with a smile.

Naruto and Hinata cringed as they heard a single voice ring out "Oh, Naruto-kun! Over here!" The fear of all fears hit them as they saw Taree and her team heading into the tower. "Who are your friends? You find a new girl and dumping Takara?" Taree turned to Hinata with a pout on her face that suddenly turned to a smile. "I knew it couldn't last..." Taree wore a surprised look as Hinata just smirked. "What am I missing?"

Haku laughed gently. "I'm a boy, not a girl." Haku replied as he continued to chuckle.

Taree's jaw dropped as the rest of her team just rolled their eyes. "Since I haven't gotten anywhere with Akemi, would you like to go out with me? I mean you are the most gorgeous guy I've seen next to Akemi, that is." Taree begged as Haku began to laugh.

"I will consider it." Haku graciously declined.

Naruto moved to Haku's ear and whispered. "I would advice distance from that one, lots of distance. She would just as soon take you in the middle of the market as in your own bed." Naruto just shook his head as Haku nodded.

Both of the teams, the Sannin and the Hyuuga entered the tower together.

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Four masked Konoha ANBU sat around a fire as they cooked several rabbits over the flames. Suddenly all stood and looked around. A voice came from the trees. "State your business here. You will either speak now or be considered enemies and killed as we are in conflict with Sound and you might be with them. You have five seconds to comply." The voice ordered.

Three of the ANBU looked at one as he shrugged. "We are from Konoha and escorted the Sannin here." The apparent leader replied.

"Why would Sannin need an escort?" A female in a buzzard mask appeared in the trees above them with the Uzu plate on her belt. She wore full combat armor.

"Well… the Hokage was worried that their party would run into trouble." The ANBU answered.

"What did you do when Itachi and Kisame attacked the party?" The woman asked as she changed her stance to an offensive one with her hand on her holster on her hip.

"We figured they could handle them. Why are you bothering us anyway?" The ANBU asked as he felt a sharp pain in his back and fell forward. The other three turned to face the outside but all fell seconds after. "How?" The fallen ANBU croaked out.

The woman laughed as she stayed back. "Senbon with triple poison, first a numbing agent, then a slow acting sedative, and finally a chakra blocker. We threw them a couple minutes ago when you were distracted. You will be asleep in about another minute. Nighty, night boys." The woman explained as the heads of the Konoha ANBU hit the ground as they could no longer hold their heads up. "Okay people get them to interrogation, if they are who they say they are we set them free with an apology if not we send them home in body bags. Now get to work."

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Takashi smiled as he saw his grandson enter his office. "Team six just file your report and I will look at it later. I want to spend some time with my grandson and his team." Taree frowned at not being there to hear about Akemi's adventures but left as ordered with her team. Making sure the team had left and was down the hall. "Okay Naruto. What is wrong?" Takashi asked with a caring scowl on his face.

"It's that damn village, Konoha." Naruto snapped back only to realize what he did. "Sorry grandpa…"

Takashi sighed. "Okay, give it to me from the top and feel free to sit down. I'm sure your visitors will have something to add. Greetings, Tsunade-san, Jiraiya-san and Haku-kun. Who wants to begin?"

Kikiyo guided her team to their seats and then began to speak. "Well the mission to wave was more than expected. We met a missing nin named Zabuza Momochi, The demon of the Hidden Mist." Takashi was shocked to hear this but nodded for her to continue. "First confrontation came out in our favor with Naruto in female form clashing swords with Zabuza. My team did an excellent job…" Kikiyo spent the next couple hours going over the mission and what happened in Konoha.

To say that Takashi was pissed was to say that water is wet. "Let me get this straight... Kakashi has attacked my grandson more than once, with the intent of either killing or maiming him?" Takashi asked as the group nodded. "And some brat Uchiha attempted to have his way with both you?" Takashi pointed his question at both Naruto and Hinata who both nodded. Takashi's face turned as red as his hair. "Give me one good reason we shouldn't attack Konoha and pull them both out of that village and string them up by their intestines?"

Kikiyo spoke up at this point. "Oto, is good enough reason, but we have the advantage right now with Konoha as the Fire country Daimyo is also pissed at Konoha. I propose sending my team and any other genin team that is ready to Konoha for the chuunin exams in a few months. It might turn out interesting if Naruto were to meet Sasuke Uchiha in one of the matches. I know that the teams from Konoha have little practical skill at this point and in a couple of months our teams will be ready to take on the rigors of the exam. We could also try to fit Haku into one of the teams if there is an opening." Kikiyo explained.

Takashi nodded. "Haku, is it?" Haku nodded at the question. "With all these border raids by Sound we just might have an opening, I'm sorry to say. It would either be for an injured squad member, or if one of our genin was killed in the line of duty. What are your skills, what is your origin and how do you feel yourself fitting into this village?" Takashi asked with a broad friendly smile on his face.

Haku went on to explain his childhood growing up in the Land of Water and how his father tried to kill him. He also explained the sad story of meeting Zabuza and the training he received from the man. His role as a tool was also explained but a frown came across Takashi's face at that explanation. Haku attempted to apologize but Takashi stated that there was nothing to apologize for as it was Haku's life and he was not there to judge. Takashi acknowledged the fact that Haku had a Kekkei Genkai, but did not dwell on it as Haku had feared. He only explained that it was nice that he had that gift and if he wanted to form a clan when he became sixteen he could but he would have to be of jounin rank in order to form a clan. Haku understood that he was someone who was wanted in the village, but not someone who would be hated or reviled, as was the case in the Land of Water. Takashi offered for Haku to stay in the Uzumaki estate until such time that he either wanted to move out or formed his own clan, and Haku gladly accepted.

The group met Ichiro at the Uzumaki estate and Haku was surprised at how small the estate was, seeing as the clan had more than fifty members. "Well Haku, not all of the clan stay at the estate. We have rooms for maybe twenty. We only house the head family and immediate family in the estate, thus we decentralized power of the head family so that they would not interfere with the daily lives of individual clan members. The rest of the clan will of course come here for meetings which are open to the general public but that is the most we do other than have the clan dojo here. Does that help you understand what is going on some more?" Ichiro inquired as Haku just nodded.

"Oh, by the way Haku, I live with Takara-chan." Naruto stated with a wink and a blush from Hinata. Haku again just nodded understanding. "Hey dad, do I get some more sword training or is it taijutsu this time?" Naruto asked happily.

"I don't know which is lacking Akemi-kun. Kikiyo, which does he need more work in at this point in time?" Ichiro asked as he wanted to make sure Naruto improved on an even pace and not give him lopsided performance.

Kikiyo smiled, as the team groaned at her reaction and Haku looked on confused. "I think they all could use a refresher course in taijutsu." Kikiyo responded happily as Haku just chuckled. "Haku, you're not exempt from this review either, I think you could learn a lot from doing this, but we have head a long trip and we need to get some rest and get you situated in your new home." Kikiyo explained as Haku nodded acceptance.

As the group entered the Uzumaki compound and helped Haku settle into his new room. The group said their good-byes, except for Jiraiya who had a room in the Uzumaki estate. Next were Tsunade and Keiko at the Senju house. About forty-five minutes later Kikiyo dropped Naruto and Hinata off at the Hyuuga main residence with Hiashi and his group. Kikiyo headed home with a goodbye.

Naruto and Hinata sat down to a nice dinner with Kido, Hana, Hiashi, and the five guards that accompanied them. They discussed the mission to wave and what happened in Konoha. Kido while annoyed was happy to have his old friend back again.

-------

Sasuke wondered if his fiancé wanted to kill him before the chuunin exam as she would just up the training each day since the Uzu group left. She was kind behind the gates of the Uchiha compound but was a tiger outside of them. He was not sure what to do with her or if he could do anything with her at all. He did notice that the other two on his team had improved, and left him alone more than before. It also bothered him that he has in some deep level, come to accept the praise and adulation from females, now that he was only getting it from the fan girls who Kohaku wanted to use for increasing his speed and stamina.

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A/N: To those of you who will remain nameless, who kept on badgering me about this story, I had it in the works just needed some time to get it straight. I needed a transition chapter so that I could go into the next arc, 'Conflict and the Chuunin exams'. Yes this chapter is somewhat short but also it wraps up a lot of loose ends for the story and I think it will be time to move along to the next part of the story. There will be surprises and some expected things going on but I hope you enjoyed this chapter so that I can move onto the next one.

I'm working on updating all my stories including Avatar and Priestess, along with adding a couple new ones as Priestess is about five to seven chapters from completion.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I didn't win the lottery and buy the rights to Naruto, dang it…

Sorry for the delay on the chapter, have been busy with personal and work related business. Also my great beta took his sweet time getting this done, just kidding, he did a great job. Now back to the story.

Chapter 24 – Conflict and confessions…

The man panted heavily, as he hung limply in the restraints. Paper seals hung around the room and off his body. A woman in a mask walked closer to him and smirked beneath her mask as the man visibly flinched. They had done nothing physical to the man yet, but he seemed ready to break.

She swayed her hips as she approached and said seductively, "You will tell me what I want to know, won't you?"

The man leaned his head back and screamed at the top of his lungs.

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Naruto's team wasn't happy, as they had been home for one day and then were sent back out on a patrol mission. The bright point was that Haku had accompanied them and was now wearing the Uzu headband.

Naruto understood that his village wanted the teams to get as much experience as possible as quickly as possible. He was just worried that the shinobi might end up with exhaustion quicker and have to rely more upon Iwa than was prudent. The five man cell continued to their circuit, as they had passed through the first village without incident. The border with Rice Field country used to be an easy job of chasing a few bandits here and there, but now with the formation of the Sound village inside of said country, border incidents were becoming a fact of life. While representatives of Oto (Sound) would tell Uzu that they had peaceful intentions, the shinobi were stealing people from the villages on the borders between the two countries.

Naruto halted quickly, as a smell assaulted his nose. Everyone turned to him, and he whispered grimly, "Blood, and lots of it. Sensei, send a bird and, we should head to the next village, since that's where the smell is coming from."

Kikiyo summoned a hawk, which took the message to Uzu, and the rest of the team scouted the area for signs of conflict. Naruto found a couple of bodies, women who had been assaulted then killed. He snorted in disgust, as he examined the bodies. Haku watched Naruto in morbid fascination, as he seemed to sniff over the whole body, and he didn't seem to be either flustered by the body's naked form or the smell of death that hung over them. After getting out of the general area of rancid smell he explained, "The women were raped and then killed. They have been dead for about ten or more hours, and they were sprayed with a solvent to cause decomposition to ensue faster than normal."

Haku was impressed, but also confused. "Why would they do such a thing? I mean raping the women is one thing. Why not take them back with them?" he asked, more wanting to know why they weren't taken than actually wanting to know why the women were raped.

Naruto shrugged, as he replied, "Raping women is the MO of Oto shinobi, well, other than the kunoichi. As for not taking them, they would slow them down. I hate to say it, but they also want to hurt our people by doing this, as they want to instill fear on the border, if the woman isn't strong then they are used for pleasure and then killed. I hate men like that."

Haku noticed Naruto's eyes showed not only hurt, but anger, as he noticed Naruto's eyes turn purple with slits for pupils. "Naruto-san? Why are you starting to go into your wild state?" he asked.

Naruto sighed, and asked, "You know that I can use a real transformation, correct?"

Haku nodded, as Naruto continued, "Well, to hide from Konoha, I had transformed into a girl, and was nearly raped by a Konoha chuunin. So, the wanton disrespect for women that this shows always gets me angry. Also, my wild state has heightened senses."

Haku nodded, as he walked next to a stream and used his bloodline to grab some water. Naruto raised an eyebrow, as Haku turned the water into two ice shovels, handed one to Naruto and began to dig with the other. "We should give them a proper burial," he explained, as Naruto assisted and they finally laid the pair of women to rest.

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Kikiyo couldn't believe that they had been ambushed. As Hinata was about to use her Byakugan to scan the area, Keiko collapsed, holding her ears in pain. Kikiyo activated her Sharingan, and saw the chakra coming from the arm of a Sound shinobi.

"So we have more women to have our way with?" the sound shinobi stated, as seven more came out of the woods to surround the group. The leader grinned, then added, "All females too! Aren't we lucky? If they're strong enough, we'll take them with us!"

The man failed to watch his opponents, as both Hinata and Kikiyo began to go through hand seals quickly. Kikiyo said under her breath, as she took a deep breath, "Fire Style: Fireball jutsu." A large fireball hit the man dead center, leaving only his smoldering corpse.

Hinata then said, "Water style: Water Bullet jutsu." She spat out a baseball sized ball of water at another of the sound shinobi, who collapsed as the water hit his chest and put a hole in it. The man was now lying dead against a tree.

Keiko began to recover, as she pulled the chakra from her ears. She couldn't hear and her balance wasn't back quite yet. She quickly used the distraction of her teammates to her advantage. The Senju girl grabbed a half a dozen shuriken, and threw them at three of their assailants. She actually hit two of them. She may have only wounded them, but she could most definitely say that those two wouldn't be fighting at full potential for a while.

-------

As Naruto and Haku finished burying the women, they felt a chakra spike from not that far away. Haku noticed the wild look in Naruto's eyes, as he shouted, "Hinata-chan and the others are in trouble!"

Both boys jumped off into the branches in the direction of the chakra spike.

-------

Hinata and Kikiyo had an advantage against these Sound shinobi, in that they could see the chakra and could dissipate it as it approached them. Keiko had no such ability, but she figured using her bloodline to block her ears would help. While it would cause her to lose one of her senses, she knew it would only affect her slightly, as Kikiyo had emphasized that relying on one sense too heavily would be their downfall, so she created some wooden earplugs. With that problem eliminated, she took cover behind a fallen tree to reassess the situation. Six against three were not good odds, even if the other side had two who were injured. Hopefully, her cousin and that 'cute' guy Haku would show up and help them out. 'Wait did I just think that he was cute?' she pondered, as she threw a kunai with an explosive tag near a couple of the enemy shinobi.

Hinata threw three explosive laden kunai in a triangular pattern, two on either side of a tree, and the third about ten feet up and on the tree behind the target tree which a Sound shinobi was using for cover. She smiled as the shinobi jumped up to avoid the two explosive kunai, only to be sent into an exposed branch by the third explosive tag. The man continued to writhe, in an attempt to extract himself off of the branch.

--------

Naruto grabbed a Sound kunoichi from behind with his hand on her mouth and his sword at her throat, as he whispered, "Surrender and you will be spared. I have a feeling I know what you've been through."

The Kunoichi had tensed at his touch, only to nod, and then lower her hands in resignation. This scene repeated with a clone doing the same thing to a second kunoichi, who was also wounded.

----------

Haku's eyes were hardened, as he watched the man salivating at the chance to hurt Keiko-chan. "I would ask you to surrender, but you appear to only think that women are to be used, and for that there will be no quarter given, Ninja Art: Demon Ice Mirrors!" he yelled as the area around the Sound shinobi and Haku crystallized into a dome of mirrors. Ten seconds later the man had breathed his last breath.

----------

Kikiyo stood above the last Sound shinobi, with her katana held to his throat. "Have you ever assaulted a woman?" she asked with her eyes activated.

The man shook his head emphatically, and said, "No. While the others did, I didn't. I did my best to try to help the women. I'm originally from Uzu, and have tried to stop them from attacking. Please take me in and subject me to any test you want. I would never hurt you."

She could tell that the man was telling the truth, as the man pulled his weapons pouches off and dumped his weapons out of his holsters. She looked around to see her team, specifically Hinata policing the bodies, as Naruto brought in a couple of Sound kunoichi, bound and ready for transport. She then noticed Haku tending to a wound on Keiko, and smiled, as the boy used great care to take care of her.

Naruto left a couple of clones to watch over the three prisoners, as he helped Hinata finish off the last Sound shinobi, who was about to free himself from his branch prison. Naruto recognized his scent from the murdered women.

Naruto sent a dozen clones towards the town to scout it out and make sure that this was the only group of Sound shinobi that were in the area. Hinata attended to the wounded enemy kunoichi and Keiko, as Haku watched and blushed at Keiko.

Hinata looked at both Haku and Keiko sternly, and said, "Keiko, remove your pants so that I can finish the work done here by Haku-kun. Haku, I want you to watch, as I might need you to do field dressings if I'm unable to."

A smirk crept up on both Naruto and Hinata's face, as Naruto got a clue on what she was up to.

From what Naruto could figure, Hinata had noticed some attraction between the two, and she wanted to push it further to try and make both happy. Naruto just shook his head, as he knew that she would play matchmaker, and he would be taken along for the ride. He watched, as Haku's face turned beet red at the sight of Keiko's panties. Naruto walked over and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You'll get used to it eventually. They have a way of worming themselves into your heart," he said, as Keiko blushed at Naruto's comment, and she knew exactly what he was referring too, though she didn't mind.

Naruto's face changed from happily teasing to serious. "There are at least four squads, if not more, in the town. They appear to be rounding up the villagers. My clones could delay and take out a few of them, but there is no way for my clones to win the fight. So far my clones haven't been noticed," he reported.

Kikiyo nodded at the information. "How close do they appear to being ready to leave the village?" she asked.

"It will be several hours, as they seem to be taking care to actually capture those who are still in the village instead of just killing them. I know they are killing those that escape, as Haku and I found a couple of women who had escaped and were given the usual Sound treatment," Naruto said, as the captured shinobi looked away in shame, and the kunoichi both went pale. He then continued, "They are putting them all in caged carts for transport."

"Okay, we'll interrogate the prisoners and wait for back up," Kikiyo said, and the team nodded agreement. She looked at the prisoners who just nodded at her glare and began to speak in turn to the questions asked.

Two hours later, four squads of shinobi appeared in the makeshift camp. Two were Iwa teams, and two were Uzu teams. Ichiro was there with his team, and they waited for the debriefing before moving out and attempting to recover the villagers.

The ultimate decision was that Haku, Keiko, and a couple of Naruto's clones would stay and guard the prisoners, while the rest of Kikiyo's team and the other four would free the village. Haku began to start a fire and prepare for wounded to arrive while Keiko prepared for more prisoners to arrive.

--------

As the five (well, four-and-a-half) teams arrived, Naruto created several hundred shadow clones and sent them to surround the village. One of the clones approached the group and gave his report, "There is one more team, bringing the total to five teams in the village, and they will be ready to leave within the hour. One of my compatriots was able to catch a kunoichi unaware as she was using the latrine, she didn't put up a fight, as she figured it was one of her teammates trying to get a little action." A look of disgust was upon his face, as he continued, "She has given us all the information I could think to ask her, and then some."

Kikiyo nodded at the information, as most of the females in the group were angered by the treatment of fellow shinobi. "Continue," she ordered.

"Well, the teams don't seem to get along well, but all the kunoichi will surrender if given the option, so I propose we take them first and hold them as prisoners. We then eliminate the others, most are chuunin level or higher in skills," the Naruto clone explained.

Kikiyo nodded to the plan of action. The next twenty minutes had the teams capturing the four other female Oto shinobi, and picking off four of the others. Actually, one capture was more like a rescue, as one of the Oto males had one of the female Oto shinobi tied, gagged and naked, ready to have his way with her. Naruto dispatched with the man quickly and released the woman only to give her clothes back to her and then take her prisoner. She found this better than the option she had before, so she happily accepted becoming a prisoner.

-----------

Kikiyo caught an Oto shinobi taking a leak and giggled, as the man stumbled in an attempt to attack her. Needless to say he was captured quickly and without much resistance, after she knocked him out and pulled up his pants.

-----------

Hinata stepped behind two Oto shinobi and tapped them at the neck. Both fell to the ground unconscious. She smiled, as she tied both men up.

-----------

Ichiro and his team were now in a fight with a makeshift team of Oto shinobi. The random thrown shuriken or kunai were supplemented by the occasional jutsu or explosive tag. Having pinned down four, if not more of the enemies at once, Ichiro was hoping the other teams were either eliminating or capturing the enemies while his team was drawing all the attention. He suddenly yelled, "Scatter!" as an explosive note and a fire jutsu hit the area.

Luckily his team got out mostly unscathed, as one of his team limped behind a tree, and used it for cover. Using a water barrier jutsu he was able to reform his team and begin to return the attacks. 'This is going to be a long day,' he thought to himself, as he fired off a Water Bullet jutsu taking out an unaware Oto nin.

Naruto continued to find and eliminate Oto nin as he came across them. He refused to show any leniency, as he cut one clean through with his sword using wind chakra to enhance his sword. Naruto would leave a clone to police the bodies, as his body count continued to climb.

-------

Ichiro suddenly noticed that the attacks of the enemies had stopped suddenly, only to see Naruto standing over the dead forms of six Oto shinobi, with a huge grin. "Thanks for keeping them distracted, Pops," he said happily.

--------

An hour later, the village had been secured and eight prisoners were now being held in the makeshift camp outside the village. Also the wounded were being tended to by Hinata and Haku.

Fifteen minutes later another group of Uzu shinobi showed up along with Jiraiya and Tsunade. Tsunade immediately began to help heal the wounded, as Jiraiya got the status report from Kikiyo and Ichiro.

"Seven Oto teams either eliminated or captured. We took some injuries, but nothing serious. Whoever is the leader of Oto seems to have little care for women, as we have witnessed the males raping both villagers and their own kunoichi. We believe this is just a small attempt to bolster their forces, and we will need to send in teams to find allies," Kikiyo explained.

"Given that, my team and Kikiyo's team are going back to Uzu for rest and recuperation, then we will work on finding some allies in Rice Field country. The other teams should finish the circuit to make sure there are no more incursions," Ichiro ordered.

-----------

Takashi wasn't a happy man, as he had a meeting with two people he didn't want to see right now: the Daimyo and the representative from Rice Field country. 'Better to get this over with than to wait for it to fester,' he thought to himself, as he signaled for his ANBU to allow the men to enter.

He put on a happy demeanor, as he expected this to be more of a fight than a diplomatic event. "Welcome Toshiro-sama, and Sozuke. It is good to see you both, what can I do for you today?"

Both men took a seat and Sozuke immediately spoke up, "It has come to our attention that you have a few of our shinobi in jail." Takashi nodded to the comment, but he continued, "This is unacceptable, and you will immediately release them, as per the terms of our agreement."

Takashi gave Toshiro a weathering glare, and said, "Sozuke Hirako, your men were captured in the commission of crimes inside my village. They will serve their terms and either be released or executed per our law."

Sozuke stood, with anger wrapped around his face. "You dare tell the representative of Oto that you're going to execute one or more of our men?" he asked angrily.

"Think what you like, but your men are animals at best. One who will be released is only a crook, the others are murderers or just as bad. I will not bend on this point, as your men attacked and murdered several women from this village. They were also caught in the act of attempting to bleed several people for their bloodlines. What do you have to say for yourself?" Takashi asked, as Toshiro wore a look of shock.

Sozuke humphed at Takashi's comment, and said, "You may then kill them, but we require their equipment."

"No," was all that Takashi said.

"Why, their request is so simple?" Toshiro asked, confused.

"Because their 'equipment' also includes the vials of blood taken from the victims, and I'm unwilling to be a party to both assault and bloodline theft from my own village. Also representative Sozuke, I was wondering why your shinobi were crossing the borders and attacking our towns," Takashi asked innocently.

Sozuke had the intelligence to look surprised. "What… what do you mean? We haven't attacked any of your towns," he explained.

Takashi chuckled, as he pulled out a report written by his grandson. "Oh, so you deny your ninja attacking towns or my shinobi along the border with Rice Field country?"

Sozuke nodded, and replied, "Yes, yes I do deny that my people are attacking yours."

Takashi handed the document to Toshiro, who eagerly read the document and became pale. He then handed it to Sozuke.

_Report on incursion at Hokkaido._

_Leader, we have stemmed the incursion on the village of Hokkaido. The teams we have assembled here have either eliminated or captured about seven, yes seven squads of Sound shinobi. Those who were guilty of heinous crimes were put to death immediately. Also it appears that the Oto nin were trying to capture civilians for experimentation. The leader was a jounin, but unfortunately he was dispatched while trying to assault one of his own kunoichi. All others were either genin or chuunin level shinobi._

_We captured nearly two __squad's__ worth for interrogation, and are bringing them back with our wounded. __Obachan__ and __Jiji__ are here and have healed the injured, but we are bring those that were injured back for some rest._

_Genin Akemi_

Sozuke smirked wryly. "So how can we trust this genin to give an accurate report?" he asked hoping to poke at the credibility of the source.

Takashi began to laugh, which caught Sozuke off guard, and then he noticed Toshiro snickering.

"You don't know who Akemi is, do you?" Toshiro asked with a wide grin.

Sozuke shook his head, but also asked, "No, should I?"

Toshiro nodded, and replied, "Akemi is Takashi's grandchild. Why would his own grandchild want to lie to him?"

Sozuke stood, bowed and said, "My humblest apologies, Takashi-sama. I was unaware of Oto troop movements that crossed the border. I will take this up with Oto's leader when I return later today."

Takashi stopped laughing and wore a serious look. He then said, "See that you do, otherwise this will be a sign of war and we will bring Stone into this war with us, as they want us to prosper."

Sozuke paled yet again at these implications, and he needed to report to Orochimaru that one of their gathering patrols had been caught. "I will take my leave of you gentlemen and you have my apologies for any trouble this may have caused," he said, as he left the room.

Takashi turned to Toshiro and said, "You know this is only the beginning, don't you?"

Toshiro nodded, and replied, "This does not bode well, with Konoha, and now Oto. I just hope that the negotiations with Kumo go better than with Suna. It strikes me as odd that the Kazekage would one day he would nearly agree with the temporary alliance and then turn it down and offer a new one with worse terms for us. It is almost as if he were a different person," His face turned from serious to a more playful smile, and asked, "So how is your grandson's relationship with that pretty Hyuuga going? And are Ichiro and Kikiyo going to finally admit they care for each other?"

Takashi chuckled at his friend's questions, but replied, "Akemi and his fiancé are doing fine, as for Ichiro… I have no clue. The two of them seem to need more time together to make a relationship work."

Toshiro nodded and rose. "Well I have a country to run, hopefully my Iwa handlers will allow me to do my job," he joked, as he left the room.

------

Two days later the teams entered the village with their prisoners. They took them to the interrogation area of ANBU only to be stopped before leaving. "Akemi-sama, we need you to come with us to see leader-sama," a bear masked ANBU said.

Naruto nodded, as he hugged Hinata and Keiko. "Now be nice to my cousin. She likes you, so if you hurt her I'll make your life very difficult," Naruto whispered into Haku's ear.

Haku blushed at the statement, but then bowed and said, "You have my word, Akemi-sama, that I only have the best intentions for Keiko-chan."

Keiko blushed at the admission, and then asked, "When did you start having feelings for me Haku-kun?"

Haku smiled warmly at Keiko, and replied, "We can discuss that over dinner, and also discuss your recovery schedule, as Tsunade-sama has asked that I become a medic-nin."

Keiko nodded and took Haku's hand, as they walked off together.

Naruto, Hinata, Kikiyo and Ichiro walked to the leader's tower after Ichiro dismissed his team.

A/N: Well conflict is beginning between Sound and Whirlpool, how will this end? Has Orochimaru made a mistake? Will he try to conscript Naruto and his team from Uzu to Oto? I won't tell…

LestatV3: As for strength, I believe that this team just needed the right instruction to shine. Yes you did catch me in a writer's slip of sorts.

Cbadgr: I will take that into consideration, as I still have more chapters to write.

Until next chapter… Chapters over the summer will be sporadic and come in clumps, as my beta and I get the work done. I have four kids and a wife to support, so work comes first, then home, and sadly writing takes last place, but them's the breaks.


	25. Chapter 25 Into Rice Country

Disclaimer: I claim only the silly storyline, but none of the characters or events in this story…

Sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy the chapter. This chapter also is in raw form and has not been through my beta just yet.

Chapter 25 – Into Rice Field country…

Naruto grimaced at the new assignment, as he didn't like fighting Sound shinobi, as they had hurt Keiko. The other thing that bothered him was this was more of diplomatic mission than a search and destroy mission.

Several kilometers outside of Rice Field country they felt a chakra spike and headed towards it. They came to a clearing to find a clearing covered in blood and sand. At the edge were several Suna shinobi. Naruto and his team waited for Kikiyo to give orders. Naruto noticed the stench of fresh blood and also very old blood. The Sand team consisted of one older man with a veil covering the left side of his face, a boy in a cat suit with a large bandaged bundle on his back, a blonde girl with a large fan, and a psychotic looking boy with a large sand gord, red hair and the kanji for love etched on his forehead.

Naruto also smelled something that bothered him, he couldn't quite tell what it was until Kyuubi spoke up. **"Naruto-kun, you smell demonic chakra. That boy is like you a jinchuuriki. Since we see a lot of sand I would conclude that it was Shukaku, the Ichibi,"** she said to him.

"Looks like we have another jinchuuriki to deal with here," Naruto said quietly, so only his team could hear.

Kikiyo adjusted her sun glasses and then asked, "So which one are we dealing with?"

"Shukaku, the Ichibi, the Sand tanuuki," Hinata replied.

"Since they are from Suna we are more than likely dealing with puppet, and Wind element users," Kikiyo explained.

"So we have Keiko deal with the guy with the bundle on his back, Hinata-chan deal with the fan girl, you deal with their jounin sensei and I'll take the jinchuuriki, while Haku-kun can stay behind as backup," Naruto said.

Kikiyo smiled and nodded. "Good initial plan Naruto-kun, but we need to find out if they killed Uzu or Oto shinobi first, and then what they are doing here," Kikiyo explained.

"I can feel you out there! Come out so mother can taste your blood and sate her hunger!" The red haired boy yelled.

Naruto shrugged, and said, "Guess that was our invitation. Be careful."

The team jumped into the clearing while Haku waited behind a tree to watch the outcome.

"What happened here?" Kikiyo asked.

"They got in our way so I ended them," the boy explained.

Naruto fished a headband out of the sand, and it had an Iwa insignia on it. "Looks like they ran into an Iwa patrol," Naruto explained.

"Care to explain why you're killing a patrol in our territory?" Kikiyo asked, as her brows furrowed.

"We were on a diplomatic mission to Rice Field country and were stopped by your 'patrol' they demanded our documents and we refused to hand them over. A fight ensued and that is how you found us," the Sand jounin explained.

"Did you travel to the Sound village?" Kikiyo asked.

"That is none of your business," the jounin answered.

Kikiyo put her hand to her head and shook her head. "Wait, let's try this again. I'm Kikiyo Fenikkusu, and this is my team, Akemi Uzumaki, Takara Hyuuga, and Keiko Senju. And you are?" she asked in a polite tone.

"I am Baki, and these are Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara of the Dessert. We only wish to pass through your territory and return to Suna, thus completing our mission," Baki explained.

Gaara began to fidget and the look in his eyes became wilder. Naruto began to pull chakra from Kyuubi and his features began to change. His hair became wilder, the marks on his cheeks became darker, his canine teeth elongated and his hands became claws. "Tell the Tanuki to calm down or we will have a problem," Naruto explained.

Baki couldn't contain his shock at a mere genin being able to recognize Shukaku's influence on Gaara. He also noticed the changes in Naruto and saw the fist wisps of red chakra forming around him. "So you also have a jinchuuriki, this would be a fight we should avoid, Gaara," Baki ordered, but Gaara seemed to not be listening.

"Yes! You will prove my existence!" Gaara yelled, as sand poured from his gourd.

"Calm your genin or I will have mine do it for you!" Kikiyo ordered.

The sand on the ground engulfed Naruto. All the Uzu shinobi looked at Hinata who just smirked and shook her head. "Bad idea tanuuki, Kyuubi won't be pleased," she said loud enough for everyone to hear.

All the Sand shinobi paled, even Gaara wore a look of surprise for an instant. He then grinned and moved his arm up. "Sand burial," he exclaimed, as his hand closed. The sand started to become a tighter ball, but then suddenly burst open.

Standing in an area that was now glass was Naruto with two chakra tails swishing behind him. "So the tanuuki wants to play," he growled in a playful tone.

"Your shinobi attacked on of mine thus he is fare game in the rules of engagement. Are you going to fight my team or allow this fight to continue?" Kikiyo asked, as she activated her Sharingan, which remained hidden behind her sunglasses.

"We have no choice but to defend ourselves," Baki replied.

Keiko smiled, as arms suddenly wrapped around her from a puppet. "I didn't know you were so forward, Kankuro-chan," she said, as she had her hands in a hand seal.

Kankuro grimaced, as he appeared to try to do something with his puppet. "Why isn't Crow working?"

Keiko smiled and explained, "Too bad you made it out of wood, because I can control that." Crow released Keiko and began to sprout branches from each of its joints and mouth.

Kankuro then attempted to jump at Keiko only to find his feet entangle by roots that were climbing his body. "No way!" he exclaimed.

Temari had her fan out and was using it send wind attacks at Hinata only to have a wall of water appear in front of her to block the attacks. "We are not matched well for a fight. Keiko has your brother, I would assume, so just stop this foolish attack and let Naruto-kun bring Shukaku under control," she said to Temari.

Temari and Hinata began to trade jutsu, Wind versus Water, with no conclusive results.

Naruto circled Gaara who just grinned manically, as his sand tried to get a hold of Naruto, to no avail. Naruto smirked and Gaara's grin fell, as Naruto went through several hand seals.

"Grand Waterfall jutsu," Naruto exclaimed, as a wall of water came up from the ground and struck Gaara's sand shield. "Sorry, now your sand is all wet and won't move as well. Give it up Gaara, Shukaku or whatever," Naruto said happily.

Gaara moved both of his arms up to parallel with his shoulders and the sand moved too, but much more slowly. "Sand Wave!" he exclaimed, as the wall of sand moved towards Naruto.

Naruto did several hand seals and then said, as he move his hand in a swiping motion in front of him, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" A large crescent of air cut through the sand wall revealing a surprised Gaara. "Give it up, I have more chakra and with your sand wet you present little challenge now."

Gaara looked down at the ground and said, "Kill me then. If I can't kill you to prove my existence, then I don't deserve to live."

Naruto shook his head, and said, "No, you don't need to kill to prove your existence, just remember that there will always be someone out there that can defeat you if you aren't careful. Power isn't all that there is. Cunning and using your resources to their best will win a fight quicker than just brute force. Also protecting those you hold precious will also give you that extra edge. Now everyone stand down or I'll tear the Suna team apart, starting with Gaara!"

Baki stopped as he had found that Kikiyo was quite proficient with Fire jutsu which were stronger than Wind jutsu. Not wanting to incur the wrath of the Kyuubi jinchuuriki he stepped back from Kikiyo. "It looks like your genin has this situation under control, but I will still not divulge the reason for my mission," he said stoically.

Gaara staggered for a moment, as did Naruto. Using demon chakra can be demanding and thus both became rather tired. "Now that that is over, care to explain why you took out an Uzu patrol and then attacked another one?" Naruto asked.

"I will not respond to a mere genin, even if he is a jinchuuriki," Baki replied.

"Then you can explain to me," Kikiyo said.

Baki sighed, as Temari checked over Gaara for injuries. "Fine, we had a mission to see the leader of the Sound village, that is all I will reveal, now can we leave, I guarantee that we will leave any other Uzu patrol alone," he said, as he glared at Gaara who nodded.

"You have my respect Naruto Uzumaki, you have quieted Shukaku for me and for that I'm grateful," Gaara explained.

Naruto grinned broadly, and said, "Glad I could help. Now stop the killing for fun, you'll find you have fewer problems if you find someone precious to protect."

"That is correct Gaara-san," Haku said, as he jumped down from the tree.

"So you had another with you?" Baki asked, and Kikiyo nodded. "No wonder you didn't worry about going all out. We will stop our aggression, but we won't divulge any information other than what has been said."

"Suna will pay reparations for the dead Uzu shinobi and we will call it a day. Haku, you will accompany them to the border," Kikiyo ordered.

"Very well, I'll see you later, Akemi-kun, Takara-chan and Keiko-chan," Haku said with a longing look on his face, as he escorted the Suna team to the southwest and Kikiyo's team continued to the west.

-------------

Naruto watched, as a slender man, with long black hair and a very pale complexion left a very angry village. 'Who is that and what power he emanates,' he thought to himself.

"Get a good look guys, as that is Konoha's number one missing shinobi, Orochimaru of the Sannin," Kikiyo explained. She then continued, "He is not someone that we can currently take down or even match. We will wait until he has left the area before we approach the village. Tsunade-sama told me to approach this village specifically because they have some medical jutsu that would be good to add to the village, even if they don't share them."

"So who are they?" Hinata asked.

"They are the Fuuma clan. They are specialists in integrating medical jutsu with chakra strings. They also have some transformation kinjutsu that should not fall into the hands of Orochimaru. The other clan we're supposed to talk to is the Tsuchi clan, they are not that special, but would be a good addition to the village," Kikiyo explained.

Twenty minutes later Naruto halted right in front of the village gates and smirked. "You can come out girl, I mean you no harm and your trap smells heavily of your scent," he exclaimed.

An orange haired girl about Naruto's age came out from behind a barrel ten meters away. Naruto smiled, as he pulled out a kunai and threw it at the ground, only to have the area erupt with several bear traps and other capture devises. The girl looked on in awe, as Naruto proceeded to disarm or disable all the traps in the area. She couldn't stop watching in morbid fascination, as this blonde boy took out all the traps she had put in place for the last month. "How did you do that?" she asked.

Naruto smiled and touched his nose. "I can smell your scent on the traps, almost as nice as my fiancé's scent," he said, as the girl blushed profusely, but Hinata watched from a tree keeping a keen eye on the girl. He then continued, "The name's Akemi Uzumaki and my team would like to talk to your clan, if we could."

The girl again blushed and nodded, as she waved for him to follow. "My name is Sasame Fuuma, I'm glad to meet you, but am disappointed that you're engaged," she said in a pouty voice.

Hinata smirked, as she and the team jumped down and followed Sasame into a meeting area. The team was quickly surrounded by about a hundred people. "Sasame, who are these people you have brought before us?" a young man asked the girl.

"Arashi-kun, they are from Uzu and want to talk. That boy was able to disarm all my traps and didn't attack me while he did it," she explained.

Arashi moved his hand to his chin, as if thinking, and said, "I see… So, what does Uzu want with the Fuuma clan?"

"We wish to recruit your clan and add them to our village. Also Tsunade-sama of the Sannin requests that you also join our village," Kikiyo explained, as she approached Arashi. She then bent down on her knee and presented a scroll. She then continued, "Takashi Uzumaki, Tsunade Senju and Jiraiya all wish that you join our village, while we will not force you to join, we do offer some good benefits."

"Such as?" Arashi inquired with a smirk.

"You will be allowed access to the village's jutsu along with medical jutsu which Tsunade-sama has given to the village for our benefit," Kikiyo explained.

"So you're offer is for us to join your village, but you don't have any down sides?" Arashi asked.

"The terms are in that scroll and I'm not privy to contents. We will withdraw and give you a chance to discuss the terms," Kikiyo said. She then said, "We will be camped just outside your village awaiting your decision."

With that statement the Uzu team left the village with Sasame in tow. "I'll keep an eye on the strangers Arashi-kun!" she proclaimed.

"Very well Sasame-chan, you can return when you know where they are camped," Arashi replied with a smile.

The team found a nice site for a camp and set up there. "Sasame-chan you can tell Arashi-san that we will wait here for his answer," Kikiyo said.

Sasame nodded, smiled warmly at Naruto, with a blush and replied, "I will tell him, Kikiyo-san. Goodbye Akemi-kun." She then headed back to the village.

Naruto began to chuckle, as Hinata and Kyuubi both began to berate him for the girl acting that way towards him. "Enough girls! I'm only interested in Takara-chan, so stop berating me. She seems nice and if I can help bring the clan to Uzu, then all the better. I have told her that we're engaged, so if she has a crush on me, I can't do anything about it. I'm sure we can find a nice guy in Uzu or Arashi-san himself to be the object of her affections," he exclaimed, as he more wanted to be happy with Hinata rather than have her mad at him for something he didn't do.

"Sorry, Akemi-kun. I guess I'm just a little jealous of a new girl trying to get your attention," Hinata said.

Naruto embraced Hinata and kissed her gently on the lips. "It's okay, hime. I'm not mad, just a little annoyed that the two girls who know me best don't trust me with another girl, other than Keiko-chan. I just figured I had earned more of your trust after all we've been through," he said sadly.

Hinata clutched him harder and kissed him. They continued to kiss as Kikiyo and Keiko setup camp. Dinner was a quiet affair, with only small talk and discussion on getting to the next clan and hoping to convince them to join Uzu.

---------

Haku and the Suna team met up with Ichiro's team near the border with Waterfall. Haku had made sure that Gaara had recovered and had discussed with him about what Akemi had told Gaara about being strong. Gaara had taken the discussion to hear and wanted to be friends with Haku and Akemi. Haku had agreed that Akemi would like that too along with himself. Temari found the effeminate Uzu shinobi to be a kind soul and found him somewhat attractive. She had made a couple simple passes at the boy only to have Kankuro blow the whole thing out of proportions.

Ichiro's team had sustained injuries and of course Naruto's cousin was in the middle of it all. Haku administered a healing jutsu that day to help speed the team back to its patrol route. The Sand team bid Haku farewell and said it would see if the Kazekage would like to have relations with Uzu.

"Great! We run into a deep attack squad and I'm the only one to get hurt!" Daichi exclaimed.

"If you would have kept your guard up like I told you, you wouldn't be injured," Ichiro explained.

"It's all because of those damn 'Melody Arms' they have. It put me off balance and I only got a scratch," Daichi said in his defense.

"A twenty centimeter gash from a kunai isn't a scratch. Now sit still so I can mend the wound," Haku ordered. He then continued with a question, "Do all you Uzumaki have such hard heads?"

"If that Sound guy would have hit him in the head he would be okay, right?" Emi asked.

"How come all the Uzu Hyuuga have a sense of humor unlike the Konoha ones?" Ari asked with a chuckle.

Emi blushed at the question, but answered, "We forgot to shove a stick up our asses."

Everyone began to laugh at Emi's joke. Suddenly a shout rang out from the direction of the border.

"Daichi, you guard camp, Haku, you're his replacement right now. Everyone spread out and find the location of that scream," Ichiro ordered, as everyone in the camp except for Daichi jumped into the trees.

-----------

"No, I didn't do anything wrong. Why are you doing this to me?" a girl with lime green hair and wearing white was on her knees begging a group of Taki shinobi for an answer.

"Because you exist! We're tired of taking up the slack for your screw ups!" the first male explained.

Ichiro and Haku noticed the blood flowing down the front of the girl's tank top. Ichiro put up a hand with three fingers and then pointed to himself. Haku nodded, as did Ari and Emi. Ichiro jumped down in front of the girl. "Hi guys!" he exclaimed with a big smile.

The three Taki shinobi stepped back, but still had their kunai drawn. "Leave us Uzu trash!" a second Taki shinobi ordered.

"Mind your manners child!" Ichiro shot back. He then continued, "You're in Uzu territory and you will cease and desist your actions now.

"We're disposing of a missing nin, so back off!" the third Taki shinobi explained.

The girl continued to cry, but yelled out, "That's a lie, I have never betrayed Taki or left without orders! You guys failed the mission and are now blaming me because of… it."

Ichiro noticed the look in her eyes, and it was the same, as he had seen in Naruto when he had nearly given up when he had rescued him and Hinata. "So you carry one?" Ichiro whispered to the girl. She flinched and nodded. He smiled warmly and turned to the Taki shinobi. "Killing a jinchuuriki inside of our borders would be an act of war and I'm sure you want to go to war with Iwa and Uzu at the same time," he explained, as the girl collapsed and cried.

"It's only one Uzu shinobi, we can take him," the second exclaimed.

"No, he isn't alone and he is an Uzumaki. There is no chance the both of you could take him. I might have a chance, but it would be close," the first explained.

The three minutes were up and the team jumped down to surround the girl. "Captain, we're here to back you up," Haku said confidently.

"Great a Hyuuga, and two nameless ones. I say we kill Fuu and be done with her, we can then retreat into Taki territory and meet up with one of our patrols and fight these if they pursue," the second said.

Haku shook his head, as he slid a senbon down into his hand. "Your orders captain?" Haku asked.

"Protect… Fuu, was it?" he asked the girl who just looked up at him in awe and nodded. "Alright protect Fuu and then yourselves. So, Taki captain, are we going to fight or are you going to retreat to your side of the border? Oh and by the way Fuu will be staying with us," Ichiro said forcefully.

"She is our jinchuuriki and we can do with her what we like. She was to be traded to Akatsuki in a few days to help our village to be rid of her. Mark my words Fuu, your name is going into the bingo books, as a missing nin. Let's go guys, we can't fight this team, as I can sense that they are either chuunin level or nearly that. By the way Gin, that is Ichiro Uzumaki, son to Takashi Uzumaki, lord of the Uzu village. He could have easily taken the two of you without breaking a sweat. If I were to sacrifice you two I might have stood a chance of beating him, but with a team we wouldn't stand a chance," the Taki captain explained, as he jumped back towards the border. The other two were quick to follow.

Haku immediately laid the girl on her back and examined her wounds. Her healing was fast, but she was losing a lot of blood to the wounds. Haku placed a blood pill in her mouth and said, "Eat this it will help to replenish your lost blood. Now, I'm sorry if I have to breach your modesty, but I feel I have to, to save your life that is." He waited for her to nod before pulling out a kunai and cutting her tank top down the middle, to reveal a torn mesh shirt, with a large piece of metal sticking out of her chest.

Emi came over and grabbed the girls hand and smiled. "Don't worry, he's a good medic and knows what he's doing. I trust him with my life," she said in a reassuring tone. Fuu nodded, as she watched Haku break the links in her mesh shirt. Ari and Ichiro both took flanking positions around them only looking out. "They have crossed the border and are leaving my sight range," Emi explained, as Fuu noticed the pale eyes and bulging veins near her eyes.

Haku finished opening the shirt and looked at Fuu in the eyes. "I'm sorry but to save you I must reveal your chest, do I have your permission?" he asked in a serious tone.

Fuu nodded, as she watched him tear the mesh shirt open and reveal her right breast. She then noticed a small sliver of metal near the breast that was only slightly protruding. She looked at Haku who wore a serious look on his face. He did several hand signs and then moved over the metal. "What are you doing?" she asked in a raspy voice.

"I'm determining if I can pull this metal out of you for transport to Uzu, so we can get you proper medical treatment," Haku explained. He shook his head and then pulled out a small bottle. "Emi, I need you to use this solution on your free hand and the wound. When I tell you to, pull out the metal, but do it slowly or she will bleed to death," he explained.

Emi let go of Fuu's hand and washed her hands with the contents of the bottle. She then pulled out some gauze and poured the fluid onto the wound. Fuu hissed in pain, as she smelled the alcohol in the solution. Emi then used the gauze to get a hold of the metal and nod to Haku. "I'm ready Haku-kun," she said.

The pattern of the green chakra changed, as Haku put his hands on the sides of the wound. "Slowly pull the metal out… slowly… very good, keep it up," he said, as Emi slowly pulled the metal from Fuu's chest. Fuu for her part gritted her teeth, as the pain became almost unbearable. "You can scream now, Fuu-san, it will help in removing it now," he explained.

Fuu took a deep breath and felt the metal slip out of her chest, as she let out a blood curdling scream. Haku continued to heal her until she passed out. He then with the help of Emi lifted her to sitting position and removed her top and shirt. Haku then proceeded to put a bandage on her chest and then wrap her chest in gauze. He then removed his kimono to reveal a shinobi outfit. He placed the kimono on Fuu and wrapped her up.

"We're done, you can look now," Haku said, as Emi steadied him, as he appeared ready to pass out.

"Good job Haku-kun, Emi-chan. Ari, please carefully lift our guest and take her to camp," Ichiro ordered.

Ari nodded and gently picked up Fuu bridal style and walked back to camp. Emi helped Haku, while Ichiro followed behind the team at a distance.

Daichi had the camp all setup when Ari arrived with Fuu. Ari and Daichi made Fuu as comfortable, as possible in the camp by putting her in Ari's sleeping bag. "So what is her story?" Daichi asked.

"Apparently she's a jinchuuriki from Taki," Ari explained.

"No kidding… cool. Looking at her, she's kind of cute," Daichi said.

"Glad you feel that way, because she's yours and Haku's responsibility," Ichiro said, as he came out of the trees. He then continued, "We need to get Haku rested and then head back to Uzu to get Fuu-chan here medical treatment."

Daichi smiled and ran out of camp quickly. Emi and Ari looked at each other in confusion, but Ichiro just smiled. About twenty minutes later Daichi returned with a handmade litter from branches and vines. "We can transport her whenever you're ready Haku-kun," Daichi exclaimed with a huge grin on his face.

---------

Arashi and Sasame entered the Uzu camp near dusk with smiles on their faces. Naruto and Hinata waved at Sasame, who waved back and blushed. Naruto and Hinata looked at each other with a raised eyebrow, and then turned to their guests.

"Welcome Arashi-san. I'm assuming that your clan has come to a decision," Kikiyo asked.

Arashi nodded, and then said, "Here are our terms. Sasame will become a genin in your village, our clan jutsu will remain our clan jutsu, and you will protect us from Orochimaru."

Kikiyo smiled, and replied, "I know we have at least one genin that could use a team member."

"She will also be taken to the chuunin exams in Konoha to see if she is able to become a chuunin," Arashi said, as Sasame beamed.

"So the other terms were acceptable?" Kikiyo inquired.

Arashi nodded and said, "We find the arrangements most acceptable. We have about fifty shinobi quality clan members and about another eighty clan members."

"Great, how long will it take for you to get ready?" Kikiyo asked.

"About a week, but do not be late, as that is the time limit Orochimaru put on our clan before he will wipe it out or take our most promising members. We will be ready in five days. Be here then. Oh, and by the way, the Tsuchi clan is corrupt and will only inform Orochimaru that you are recruiting," Arashi informed the Uzu shinobi.

"So Orochimaru is the leader of the Sound village?" Kikiyo asked, as Arashi nodded.

The group continued to talk into the night. Sasame got three new friends and now would be part of village. If only her other dream would become a reality she would be a happy girl, but she didn't know if Arashi had eyes for her.

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A/N: Well another chapter down and closer to the chuunin exams. Yes, Fuu is the seven-tailed jinchuuriki. No, there will be no Naruto/Fuu or Naruto/Sasame, this is a NaruHina story. I hoped you liked the story so far. If you think there is going to be some other pairing you're right, but you can figure it out later.

To answer questions before hand, yes, Naruto's team is going to the chuunin exams, as is Ichrio's team. There will be at least two other teams from Uzu going, you get to figure out who they are… if you can… muhahahahaha…

LeafRanger: We shall see…


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Naruto or characters therin.

Chapter 26 – Coming Home…

The Fuuma clan walked with Kikiyo's team until they came to the village that belonged to the Tsuchi clan. They found a lot Oto shinobi activity. Apparently the Tsuchi clan bore a lot of female children and there was a fence around the village. Naruto gritted his teeth, as they heard the screams of desperate women.

Kikiyo and Naruto snuck in that night to find the elders of the clan. They found them alright, as they were all chained in the village square. After a little while of reconnoitering the guard patrols, Naruto and Kikiyo ambushed several patrols at once. All the guards were tied up, but Naruto had to restrain himself from killing each and every one he ran into. After releasing the elders Naruto and Kikiyo were able to get the clan to agree to leave Rice Field country for Whirlpool country and join the village. With the help of the Fuuma clan they were able to capture all the Oto shinobi and then proceeded to clean the town out and then make a trail that led North instead of West towards Uzu no Kunai.

It took several days to reach the border and along with the prisoners, which slowed progress some, they were able to get to the border in a week's time. A few days afterwards they were in Uzu proper with about one-hundred-fifty new residents for Uzugakure no Sato.

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Fū woke up in an unfamiliar place, a hospital, and to a smiling face. A red headed boy just smiled at her and she couldn't tell why. He suddenly noticed she was awake and leaned near her.

"I see you're awake now. I'll get the doctors now, and welcome to Uzu, pretty lady," he said quietly, as he then got up and left the room.

She looked around and saw no restraints or seal upon her. She did feel her insects moving happily about her body. They filled her in on what was going on. Apparently the team from Uzu had saved her and brought her to Uzu for medical attention. While she couldn't get all the details, she was able to glean some of the information, as her ability to talk to the insect had come slowly over the years. She had heard of a clan in Konoha that worked with insects, but hers didn't inhabit her body, they preferred to stay in her pack and help her when they could.

The door opened and blonde woman in her late twenties or early thirties entered the room along with the red haired boy from earlier and a boy with long brown hair that she recognized, as trying to heal her when her team betrayed her.

The woman grabbed a chart at the foot of her bed and looked it over. "So how do you feel sleeping beauty? I hear that Daichi-kun here hasn't left your side for two days, just to make sure that you're all right. My name is Tsunade Senju, by the way. Haku-kun, here was able to remove the metal piece from your chest and start you on the road to recovery. He is quite talented and I'm sure that any embarrassment you may have had will stay between you and him," Tsunade said with a glare at Haku, who just nodded.

"So will she be okay, Tsunade-sama?" Daichi asked in a worried tone.

"Yes she will, also are the bugs yours?" Tsunade asked.

Fū nodded and replied, "They are my friends and they help me from time to time. I'm sorry if they have caused any inconvenience."

Tsunade waved her concern away. "I've worked with the Aburame before, so your friends weren't a problem. So you're the jinchuuriki of the Shichibi, or the Seven-tailed Beetle, right?" she asked, as she sat next to Fū.

Fū looked around to gauge the expressions of the other occupants and found that Haku held indifference to the information that was given. Daichi was still excited, but also didn't seem to be phased by having a jinchuuriki in the hospital. Seeing a kind smile coming from Tsunade she nodded.

"That is fine dear, we have a couple of them here in the village right now, so you don't have to be afraid," Tsunade said in a reassuring tone. "Would you like to meet someone like yourself? He's a nice boy, kind of goofy at times, but nice," she said in a motherly tone.

Fū nodded and began to relax a little bit. She wasn't sure what was going on, but if they had protected her from Waterfall then she might just be safe for now.

Tsunade moved her hand and brushed away a few stray strands of hair from her face and smiled warmly. "Please tell me your story. I want to hear it, so I can try to help you. My grandnephew was also driven from his village for the same reasons, as you were from yours," she said looking out the window. She smiled with a faraway look in her eyes.

Fū looked at her in awe and fascination. 'Is her grandnephew a jinchuuriki like I am?' she thought to herself. The next few hours were spent telling her story to Tsunade, Haku and Daichi.

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Naruto entered the village at the end of the caravan of the two families that had come with them to Uzu. His clones also guarded the prisoners they had captured on the way back and they totaled in the neighborhood of about thirty prisoners. Naruto knew that these people would have some information that Uzu could use to protect itself from Oto. Naruto just hoped Kikiyo-sensei would not get in trouble for capturing so many from Oto in their own territory.

Hinata understood Naruto's worries, not only because they could share thoughts, but because she was also worried that there would be retaliation for what they had done. She was glad that they had come to a decision about Sasame and how she would be treated. Arashi at this time could not give her the attention she wanted, but said that she would make him happy if she would try to integrate herself into Uzu. This made Hinata somewhat happy in that the man had not outright rejected the girl and smashed her dreams. He was either waiting for her to find someone else or until she was older to see if the feelings were real.

The Tsuchi and Fuuma clans settled quickly into their new homes and found a clan compound for each of them ready. Takashi had greeted them at the gate and showed each clan to their respective compounds, and had people ready to show the individual families their new homes around the village. He also informed Naruto that Oto wanted his head now. This brought a chuckle to both Naruto and Takashi, but a frown to the three women on his team and a certain fox spirit.

Naruto was informed that there was a girl that he should meet in the hospital and that Haku was going to get a team to work with, but they would have a retired Iwa shinobi as the sensei for the team. Naruto suggested that Sasame be on Haku's team, and Takashi agreed.

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Naruto and Hinata entered the room with a sleeping girl around their age. She had lime green hair and a tanned complexion. They waited for about an hour for her to wake up. She smiled wearily at the pair. "Are you like me?" Fū asked at almost a whisper.

Naruto smiled warmly. "If you're asking if I'm a jinchuuriki. Then, yes I am one. This is Takara-chan my fiancé and I'm Akemi," he looked around and then smiled with a huge grin, "Or Naruto Uzumaki, jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Please don't let people know my name is Naruto, as it would cause... complications."

Fū looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "What type of complications?" she asked.

"Well, my actual name is sort of a secret, but not a secret. Yeah, I know kind of confusing, but I assure you that it would be better to call me Akemi until the chuunin exams in Konoha are over. I have talked with my grandfather and he has already sent a courier to Taki to determine your status. No matter what they do, he has assured me that you will be an Uzu shinobi and respected. We have already set up a team for you and hoped you would like to participate in the chuunin exams with me and my team. Oh, and Daichi will be there too," Naruto said with a knowing grin.

Fū blushed, but then frowned. "He wouldn't like me, I'm a freak," she said in a derogatory tone.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, Daichi-kun is a great guy and wouldn't care if you had a horn growing from your forehead. He can look into people's souls and see people for who they are. He likes you because of you, not because of what people think or what you carry. He told me that he would like to get to know you better. He isn't in love, but hey it's a start," he said with a smile.

"You're just saying that, so that I will stay here in your village," Fū said, as she looked down and away, as if in shame.

Hinata moved forward and pulled Fū into a hug. "Naruto-kun only lies when he needs too, and never about affairs of the heart. We know that you were mistreated. We were too, by Konoha. You see because of their attitude we share the seal of the Kyuubi. While Naruto-kun holds the lion's share of the seal, I still hold a portion of it," she said, as Fū felt a tear hit her shoulder.

Fū pulled Hinata back and saw that the girl was actually shedding tears, of both pain and despair. "You share the seal? How can that be?" she asked, as her eyes moved between Naruto and Hinata.

Naruto pulled both chairs close to the bed and then began. "We were both mistreated also. You see, my training in Konoha was sabotaged at the academy, even in the first few years. We found a teacher that was going to help me, but because of some bigots. We were attacked, me first and then Hinata-chan, I mean Takara-chan here..." Naruto said with a wink. Fū seemed to understand, as Naruto continued, "You see, we were ambushed inside my apartment and then chased out of the village. We ran into a Kumo shinobi and he wanted Hinata's eyes, but we fought him and she was injured badly. I used the power of the Kyuubi to heal her, but by doing this I left a mark and it transferred part of the seal to her. My uncle found us and took us away from Konoha and you met him by the way."

He sighed, but then continued, "There is more to the story than I'm telling you, but I thought you should know that Uzu is a safe place for you Fū-chan. You don't have to trust me, but I do ask you to let us show you that we are worthy of your trust."

"Why don't you ask for my trust right off the bat?" Fū asked.

"Because we trust few people to begin with and thus understand that since you were hurt and betrayed by those you trusted, that you would not give it easily for fear of being hurt again. We only ask you to allow us to help you. Trust will come later. You might also like it here. You could always go back to Taki, but we would never allow Akatsuki to have you, for we don't wish for your death," Hinata said with a serious look. She then smiled and said, "Also I think that Daichi-kun might have a crush on you. If you play your cards right, you might have someone who will trust you with their life before you trust them. He is a nice boy and a cousin of my fiancé."

"But you don't know me and I might release the bijuu to rampage across your village," Fū said with tears ready to leave her eyes.

Naruto sighed, and replied, "Then I would lose a possible new friend and have to use the Kyuubi to stop you, and more than likely lose both Hinata-chan's and my own lives in the process. We want you to be happy and also be able to defend yourself. We know about your team betraying you. We're sorry that it happened, but we didn't do it and Haku-kun and Daichi-kun both helped make sure you made it to the village safely. Daichi-kun was even sporting an injury already, but even with that he pushed to make sure you made it here to my great-aunt Tsunade."

Fū looked down and then said in a somber voice, "I'm sorry, that I didn't trust you. I've just been treated, so bad for most of my life and had to make sure that you weren't trying to hurt me like the others."

Naruto stood and moved close to Fū. He then embraced her in a warm hug. "I reserve those usually for Hinata-chan, but you looked like you needed it," he said with a smile and Hinata nodded at his statement.

Fū for once felt something that she had never felt before, welcome. She felt like this could be home. She did feel wary of this feeling, but hoped she could go with this feeling.

---------------

Naruto looked at his grandfather with worry. "So the chuunin exams are in Konoha?" he asked, while Takashi nodded. "So are we going to send some teams and is my team going to be one of them?" Again Takashi nodded. "So old man, are you going to marry, old lady Hitomori or what?"

Takashi nodded then looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "You asked that on purpose didn't you?" he asked with a wry grin.

Naruto nodded and then said, "Be nice, we both know that Hitomori-san has something for you."

"That may be the case, but it isn't something that I'm going to discuss with my grandson," Takashi replied.

"I approve," Naruto said with a huge grin.

"Why do you approve?" Takashi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, if you think about it. She does like you, a lot. She is pretty for her age, and she wouldn't cause any problems with the clan or the village," Naruto explained.

"She wouldn't cause a problem with the clan because she is a member of the clan," Takashi countered.

"Thus the paperwork for the marriage would be less," Naruto said, barely able to contain his laughter.

Takashi scowled at the young Uzumaki and stood. "You know Naru-chan. If I didn't have this much paperwork to do I might take the time to discipline you like your sensei should be doing," Takashi said, as he approached Naruto slowly and methodically.

Naruto ran off quickly with a smile on his face, only to have his grandfather chasing after him with the same smile plastered of his face. They quickly jumped out the window. Laughter was heard all across the village.

------------

Hinata sported a huge smirk on her face.

Hana noticed this and asked, "What is the smile for child?"

"Naruto-kun and Takashi-sama are having some bonding time," she replied happily.

"So that is the laughter I heard outside. Along with the blurs heading around the village," Kido said happily.

"So are you and your team ready for the upcoming chuunin exams?" Hana asked.

Hinata nodded and replied, "Yes, I believe we are ready for the exams. Naruto-kun isn't happy that they are in Konoha, but he will survive. We are still worried about the Uchiha boy, he isn't quite right in the head."

Hana chuckled and said, "From what you and Naruto-kun told us, we agree that he needs some help. I would watch out for him in the exams. More than likely they will push him into it because he is to be the head of the clan and will need the much needed prestige of either making chuunin or competing early."

Hinata opened a book on advanced healing techniques and replied to her grandmother, "We will be careful."

----------

The next day Naruto and Hinata escorted Sasame to meet with his grandfather in Fū's room. Haku was also there. Sasame stood there with a blush on her face looking back and forth between Naruto and Hinata, not knowing what to do, so she waited for Takashi to speak.

Takashi cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. That being done he began to speak, "I've gathered three of you here today to form a team." He looked at Haku, Sasame and then Fū and then continued, "Haku-san, Sasame-san and Fū-san, I am asking you to form a new team for Uzu. As I see it, Haku has both medical and combat experience. Fū has similar experience working for Taki, and I have gotten a letter from the chief of that village. He releases you from all your duties and will make sure that you're compensated for what happened to you. Now Sasame, you're going to be the linchpin for this team. While you lack experience, I'm told that your knowledge of your clan jutsu and other academic materials is outstanding. Your new jounin sensei, Roushi of Iwa will be meeting with you tomorrow to figure out where he will need to train you, so that we can bring you up to speed with our other genin teams."

He raised his hand to forestall a question from Haku. "I know you have enough experience and skill to be a chuunin, heck most of our genin in this village do. Nori does a great job of teaching students. As it stands now we have several teams ready for the chuunin exams. Including yourselves, we will have about six teams go to the exams. Two teams are not ready just yet. Any questions?" he asked happily.

Haku nodded and said, "While I'm not opposed to either of them being on my team, I would like to get to know them better, so that we can better work together. I know something of Fū's skills, but I'm sorely lacking in knowledge of Sasame-san's capabilities."

Sasame bowed and replied happily, "I'm fairly good with thrown weapons and trap setting. I know a few earth jutsu and other jutsu that conceal your presence."

Haku nodded at this information. Naruto led Takashi and Hinata to the door and said, "Okay, we'll leave you guys to get to know each other later. Also Haku, Keiko wants you to go with her to lunch after your done here."

Haku nodded and blushed slightly, but otherwise continued his discussion with his new teammates.

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As the trio left the lobby of the hospital Hinata asked, "Do you think they will be able to get enough D-ranked missions to qualify for the exams."

Takashi nodded, but said apprehensively, "The exams are in Konoha this time around and I'm not certain that you'll be able to keep your secret for long."

Naruto sighed and said, "Well, more than likely the secret is over and only Kumo and Kiri don't know." Hinata growled at the mention of Kumo.

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A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but was closing up the Oto arc and getting ready for the chuunin exam arc. Next chapter: Going to Konoha…

Thanks for all the support. Sometimes the story writes itself and others… well, you other authors know what I mean. Again I'm not sure of my update schedule. I will keep up writing and try to dust off some of my older stories and try to update them. Priestess is on that list, since I have the next chapter almost finished, but seems a little dry for my tastes, but people sometimes seem to like that. I'm working on a possible rewrite of Naruto's Happyness. The Missing Hokage is quite at the moment, but I'm hoping to get some inspiration on the next chapter. I've done most of the challenge and want to take it further, but I'm not sure what to do, PM me with some ideas and I consider them.

Again sorry for the wait for the smaller chapter, as time is a commodity that we have a finite reserve of. Personal issues have come up again, so I will update, as I can. I hope you enjoyed the wrap-up chapter.


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